


A Story Without End

by shipsinlove3



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Future Fic, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 46,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26659033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipsinlove3/pseuds/shipsinlove3
Summary: Jess and Rory navigate their complicated relationship five years after the Revival and it seems like neither one of them can close the door on their former relationship. How will Rory's daughter Abby fit into their relationship?
Relationships: Rory Gilmore & Jess Mariano
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Like many, I wasn't happy with the Revival and how they left Jess/ Rory. So, I wrote this story with a time jump and we catch-up with Jess and Rory a few years after the revival. This is my first Literati Fanfiction, I'm posting on this site. Hope you Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Unfinished

Rory feels like such an idiot for only managing to write _Dear Jess_ in nearly four hours. "Mommy." She turns around to see her five-year-old standing there with her hands on her hips as if she's the one in charge. "Have you asked Uncle Jess yet?" Rory walks over to her daughter. Abby has her bright blue eyes, but Logan's sandy blonde hair. "No sweetie, I haven't written him yet?" Her daughter gives her the same stern look she gives whenever she doesn't read her two bedtime stories before bed. "Why not mommy?" Rory doesn't have any excuses left in her arsenal. She doesn't want to lie to her kid. "I don't know what to say." Abby stares at her for a moment and puts her hand on her heart "Say what's in here mommy and ask him about coming to Daddy Day." Rory nods at Abby and suddenly remembers that this letter isn't about her, but about her daughter. Abby had asked her to write this letter, no she had demanded that she write it. Apparently, Jess had told her once that writing her wishes in a letter are the only way that they come true. It seems that her daughter really wants this wish to be granted because it's the only one she's ever had.

When Abby was three, she had asked her if Jess could be her daddy. It had broken her heart to have to tell her that Jess loved her very much, but he couldn't be her father. Abby had insisted that he was her daddy because he did things with her that only fathers do. Such as, taking her to the park, the movies, out for ice cream, and her absolute personal favorite, the bookstore. Every year on her birthday, Jess takes Abby to Truncheon to pick out as many books as she wants. Abby always comes back with a big smile on her face and at least twenty books. It warms Rory's heart to see her daughter so happy spending time with Jess. She's thankful that he's around because Logan is usually busy with his other family. When she had been nine months pregnant, Jess had convinced her to tell Logan about her pregnancy. He had told her that he hated the guy, but he still deserved to know that she was carrying his kid. When Logan had found out, he had said that he wanted to be in Abby's life, but Odette was two months pregnant. Logan had offered her money to support Abby, but he said that his company couldn't afford for a scandal to break out about their CEO. Rory had told him that he could be as involved as he wanted and hung-up the phone before her anger could get the best of her. It turns out that Logan has been as involved as her father had during her childhood. He visits once a year and that is the day after Christmas. When he shows up, Abby refuses to call him daddy because she says that he doesn't act like her daddy, not like Jess does. Jess comes for visits frequently and has never missed a single important milestone in her daughter's life.

Rory stares down at the daunting paper and sighs to herself. She can do this, all she has to do is put her pen to paper. Follow her heart as Abby had said earlier. Rory wishes that the world could be as simple as her daughter has painted it in her mind. She sometimes envies the mind of a child because their naïve minds can still dream and hope. Life hasn't knocked them down yet. Rory finally presses her pen to paper and writes the first two words that come to mind. _I'm sorry_. Two words we learn to say as children if we do something wrong. Rory knows she's done a lot wrong when it comes to Jess. Their history has proven that point ten times over. The wait of those two words are heavy and she's not sure where to even begin. What is she truly sorry for? Flashes of her and Jess through the years suddenly invade her mind and she can't make it stop. _Jess asking her to run away with him and her breaking his heart by saying no, Jess yelling at her outside of that bar about her dropping out of Yale and her defending Logan for being an asshole, Jess putting his heart out there that night at Truncheon and her telling him that she couldn't help but love Logan, and most recently, Jess telling her that they had been broken up for twenty years and it was her fault that they weren't together now and her telling him that he could do much better than that bimbo of the month he had brought to the party._ Rory presses her pen to paper once again and this time the words come to her easily. Filling up the blank pages in their story that have remained unwritten.


	2. Filling in the Blanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Jess returns home from a business trip. For the last month, he's been traveling around the country promoting his latest novel in various bookstores. He's always hated boasting about his work and about himself as a writer. Even though this is his third published novel, he still doesn't think much of himself. He's not the next Great American Novelist that everyone hypes him up to be. He's still just Jess, the screw-up that somehow climbed himself out of the hole that he had been trapped in for most of his life. As he sees it, his supposed success has come about by pure luck. Jess flips through his mail and notices a letter tucked between his utility and electricity bills. He sees _her_ name written in the corner of the envelope and his heart stops. The last time he had seen Rory was when they had gotten into a fight about his new girlfriend Olivia. Jess had been both surprised and angry by Rory's evident jealousy. She had insulted his girlfriend behind her back and he wasn't going to let it go, especially since he had to sit around while she had dated both Dean and Logan. Two guys that were completely wrong for her in every way. Dean had wanted Rory to be someone she wasn't. A wanna be housewife that would cook and clean after him. The cookie cutter lifestyle that Rory never would have fit into. Logan had also wanted Rory to live a caged life. She had told him once that the reason why she hadn't married Logan was because he had wanted her to be a High Society Wife with no ambition. Rory would have had the life of her grandmother and she had refused to be suppressed in that world. Her ambition and big ideas were too much a part of her.

Jess stares at the letter for another few moments, trying to bring himself to open it. He figures that he looks like an idiot standing here in the middle of the apartment mailroom gawking at his mail. So, Jess pulls his duffle bag higher up on his right shoulder and makes his way to the elevators. He hits the up-arrow key and waits for the car to come down. After a few moments, the car dings open and Jess steps in. He hits the third-floor button and watches the doors close. Jess wonders what prompted Rory's unexpected letter. Maybe she had finally decided to apologize for acting like a jealous teenager. Knowing Rory, she couldn't bring herself to call or meet him to apologize, so she wrote him a letter instead. The car stops and the doors open on his floor. Jess steps out and makes his way down the hall to his apartment. He unlocks the door and walks into his place. Jess notices the rest of his mail from the last month sitting on the counter. His buddy Mark that works at Truncheon happens to also be his next-door neighbor and has been looking after his place for him.

Jess slips the letter into his back pocket and looks through the rest of his mail, which is mostly junk mail and a few bills, trying to hold off from reading the letter. He knows once he opens it, there's no going back. Either Rory will apologize or things will continue to be tense between them for the foreseeable future. Jess walks to his fridge to get a beer and then makes his way into the living room. He pulls the letter out of his back pocket and settles himself on the couch. Jess turns the letter over and opens it.

_Dear Jess,_

_I'm sorry, those words will never be enough to cover all that I'm sorry for. I've been sitting here staring at this blank page for hours, trying to figure out what to say to you. You've been such an integral part of my life and I can't thank you enough for always being the one person that has given me direction. I've never properly thanked you for all that you've done for me, so I'm sorry for that. You've always been there for me and my daughter. Abby told me that I needed to write from my heart. Easier said than done, but I'm willing to try._

_First, I want to say sorry for the way I treated you after you came back to Stars Hollow. I shouldn't have run from you, but you hurt me Jess. In fact, you're the one person in this world that has hurt me the most. When you ran away to California, I couldn't seem to move on. I ended up being single for a year because some part of me hoped that you'd come back. Then when you asked me to run away with you, my heart was saying yes, but my brain was saying no. Your proposal had come out of nowhere and I couldn't trust you after you had abandoned me. I'm sorry for how harsh I was to you at that moment. Looking back, I guess there was some part of me that was angry at you and wanted to hurt you like you had hurt me._

_I'm also sorry for all our encounters after that. You were the person that stood outside that bar and woke me up. Reminded me that I was more than some entitled trust fund brat. You're the only person that's ever really seen me and I don't think that I've ever told you how much your opinion of me matters. I've let you down so many times, but the one time I regret most was that night at Truncheon. I had tried to use you to get back at Logan because I knew you still had feelings for me. My relationship with Logan was a mess and I had no right to lead you on like that. You deserved better than that from me and I used you as a pawn._

_As for our fight at Abby's party, I'm sorry for insulting your girlfriend behind her back. She actually seemed nice, I just couldn't stand seeing you with her. I don't know what came over me. Maybe, I'm just not used to seeing you with other women. I don't know Jess, I just feel like things between us are still unfinished. Like whatever we had when we were seventeen is simmering beneath the surface. Your comment at the party about it being my fault we're not together was right. I've been running from you, expecting you to wait for me. It's not fair and I'm sorry. My mother did the same thing to Luke for years and now I'm doing it to you. Even though I'm not my mother and you're not Luke, it seems that we've fallen into the same pattern. So, let's break the pattern Jess and finally hash out all our issues. I need you in my life and so does Abby._

_Abby's the one that asked me to write this letter. She believed your story about wishes only being granted if their written in a letter. Abby asks about you every day. I told her that we had a disagreement and she told me that I needed to get over it because she needed me to ask you an important question. Abby wants you to come to her school next Friday and participate in Daddy Day, as she calls it. You'll be required to talk about your career and wear a tie. Sorry, I know you're not crazy about formal wear, but that's one of the rules. Abby also told me that their holding a dance Friday night. She's been begging me to take her to the mall and buy her a new dress. Abby's so excited Jess and she'd really like you to be there. Daddy Day is at 10 A.M. and the dance starts at 7 P.M. I hope we can talk soon about everything._

_Rory_

Jess sets the letter on the coffee table in front of him and looks over at a picture of Abby from last Christmas sitting on his mantle. She had nearly knocked him over when he had given her a personalized journal to write in. Abby had said that she could be a writer like him and it had warmed his heart. No one has ever wanted to be like him in his whole life and suddenly he has this beautiful little girl thinking he's someone admirable. Jess smirks and knows that there's nothing that he wouldn't do for Abby. He'd give her the moon and the stars twice over if it would make her smile.


	3. Daddy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter was fun to envision and write.

Rory feels anxious as she drops off Abby at school Friday morning. She's been talking animatedly since she woke up this morning. Abby has no doubt that Jess will come through for her today and it scares her. What if he doesn't show up? What will she tell her? Rory helps her out of the car and grabs her hand. They make their way into the school and walk down the long hallway to Mrs. Fisher's Kindergarten Class. Rory stops at the door and kneels, so she's eyelevel with her daughter. Despite her anxiety, she can't help but smile at Abby's new red dress and black shoes. When she had laid eyes on that dress in the store, she had insisted that she had to have it. It was only the second dress they had looked at that day, but she had stated adamantly that it was the best dress she had ever seen. It didn't surprise her because once her daughter makes up her mind that she wants something, she goes and gets it. "Sweetie, I don't want you to be disappointed if Uncle Jess doesn't come today." A frown crosses over Abby's face. "Of course, he's coming mommy. You wrote the letter." Rory doesn't want to crush her kid's sense of imagination and hope, but she knows how heartbroken she'll be if he doesn't show up and she doesn't want her to be blindsided. "Abby…" The bell rings and she opens the door to the classroom. Abby turns to her and gives her a wide smile. "He'll be here mommy, I know it." With that, her daughter skips into the classroom, leaving her standing in the hallway, hoping that Jess makes her daughter's wish come true.

Jess drives into the parking lot of Abby's school. He looks at his clock radio that reads 9:45 and quickly gets out of his car. Jess enters the school and remembers where Abby's class is because he had gone to her Christmas Play four months ago. The reception after the play had been held in the classroom and Abby had eagerly shown him her desk, cubby, and various behavioral stickers she had gotten for the month. Abby had smiled when she had shown him that she had earned five good behavioral stickers in one day. Jess makes it to the classroom and enters. As expected, there's a lot of stuffy businessmen scattered around the room and he feels out of place. His eyes continue to scan the room, until he spots Abby sitting in the corner. Her hair is in pigtails, her red dress predictably has sparkles, and she's wearing the heart shaped locket he had gotten her for her birthday. Jess can't help but smile as he makes his way over to her. Abby is talking to a little girl in a green dress and has one of the brightest smiles he's ever seen on her face. He taps her on the shoulder and she turns to him.

Abby swiftly wraps her arms around him in a hug. Her little face looks up at him with that beautiful smile. "I knew you'd be here, I told mommy you would be because I made a wish." Jess squeezes her tighter to him. "I told you letters are magic, now you'll have to start writing your own soon." Jess sees the excitement gleam in her features and it makes him smile. "You'll have to teach me Uncle Jess because I don't know how." Abby pulls back from him and grabs his hand. Jess looks down at her next to him. "It's easy, do you still have that journal I gave you?" Abby nods and his heart warms at the sight. "I write in it every day and hide it in my closet so mommy won't read it." Abby leads him to her desk where there's two chairs set up for them to sit. One tucked into her desk and the other right next to it. They take their seats and Jess turns to her. "We'll practice in your journal, if it's okay for me to see?" She beams at him. "You're the only one that can see it Uncle Jess because you're a writer too." Jess smirks at her as the teacher clears her throat in the front of the room. He turns his attention to the front. Good morning, I've met quite a few of you already, but my name is Mrs. Fisher and I'm so happy that you could join us for Dads Are Heroes Day." Jess's heart stops at her words. Does Abby really think of him as a hero? He can't imagine anyone seeing him like that, but here she is proving him wrong. These are the times that she reminds him of Rory. Her beautiful optimism and unwavering belief in him beyond his understanding. "I'd like you to come up here to the front and explain what you do for a living. Then, your children will come up to join you and explain why you're their heroes using five words they wrote last week." Jess takes a breath, curious about which words Abby would use to describe him. He still can't believe that she had asked him to stand up as her dad, but he's touched by it because he feels like she's _his_. Has since the moment they had handed her to him mistaking him for the father. Logan had been late flying in, so Jess had been one of the first to see her when she had come into this world. Another "Gilmore Girl".

Jess waits through quite a few boring speeches about the life of a man that works for or owns his own company. He's glad that he never became a suit because he would have hated it. Jess has never been too good in confined spaces and that's what life would be like if he had a job like that. Convention isn't his strong suit and maybe that's why he's here now. Acting as Abby's father, when he clearly isn't. "Abby Gilmore." She tugs on his hand and he gets up from his chair. Jess makes his way to the front and knows what everyone's thinking. Stars Hollow is a small town and people know who Abby's _real_ father is. All they see when they look at him is the former town punk that broke their princess's heart. Coincidentally, the same person that broke her heart is now masquerading as her daughter's dad. He hesitantly looks up at the crowd and his attention falls on Abby. Her eyes are bright and he can see the admiration in them. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jess Mariano and I'm a published author." Abby makes a hand gesture for him to continue and he suppresses a smile. "I've published three novels over the course of my career. Each have been part of an anthology and have been aptly titled "The Subsect" volumes I-III." He looks over at Abby who nods her head for him to continue. "My day job is publishing books with this press in Philadelphia called Truncheon that I now co-own." Jess stops, having run out of things to say, and is relieved to see Abby make her way up to the front to stand beside him. "My name is Abby Gilmore, my daddy is my hero because he's strong, smart, funny, nice, and brave." Her eyes find his and he wonders where she came up with him being brave. If she'd only known how much of a coward he was when he was younger. Running from her mother and going to California without saying goodbye. He'd have been brave if he had stayed and told her that he couldn't take her to Prom because his grades were crap. Clapping takes him away from his thoughts as Abby grabs his hand in hers. She looks up at him with her mother's smile and they walk back to her desk together.

Rory waits in the pick-up line by the curb. She's been worried about Abby all day and scans the crowd for her. What if he didn't make it and she's in tears when she comes out? Rory's not sure how she's going to quell her daughter's disappointment in Jess if he hadn't come. In her daughter's eyes, he's Superman and there's no one greater than him. It's always made her heart swell to know that Jess is that father figure in her life. Rory's eyes finally fall on her daughter who's being carried by Jess. She can't help the smile that creeps on her face at the sight of those two together like this. As they get closer, Jess's eyes lock with hers and her heart palpitates. His eyes have always been magnetic to her, drawing her in. Jess stops in front of her and Abby smiles. "I told you so mommy." Rory can't help but smile at her daughter. "Yeah, you did tell me." Her eyes scan over Jess's face and he doesn't seem to be angry with her. She hopes that the letter helped him see her side of things and how sorry she was for everything. "Smart kid you got there." Rory nods at his words." The smartest." Rory can see Abby looking between her and Jess from the corner of her eye. "If I'm the smartest in the world, does that mean we can go to grandpa Luke's mommy? He always gives me lots of fries to eat." Rory turns to Jess who gives her a short nod. "Off to Luke's than." As they walk to the parking lot together, Rory feels like they're a complete family and everything is how it should be. The three of them against the world.


	4. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This is by far my favorite chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I loved writing it.

They finish their food at Luke's and make their way back to her house. She can't help but steal glances Jess's way. He had come through for her daughter and it makes her want to work things out with him even more. "Mommy, what time is it?" Rory takes her cell phone out of her purse and looks at the time. "It's 4:00." Abby begins to bounce around and Rory can't help but laugh at her daughter's boundless reserve of energy. "Uncle Jess, we have to get ready for the dance soon." Rory looks over at Jess who smirks. "Slow down there kid, we still have three hours until the dance." They reach her house and Abby stops at the bottom of the steps. "Can't we go early?" Jess shakes his head and Abby turns to her. "Please mommy, I'm so excited." Rory smiles at her daughter. "I know you are sweetie, but no one else will be at the dance if you go this early. It won't be any fun." Abby shakes her head. "I always have fun with Uncle Jess." Rory locks eyes with him and she can see a new sense of confidence within him. Like her daughter had made him believe in himself again, like she used to do. "You and Uncle Jess will have just as much fun going to the dance at 6:15." Abby gives her that pouty look she gets when she doesn't get what she wants. "But I want to go now mommy." Rory lets go of her hand when Jess suddenly picks her up. Abby turns to face him. "Let's go practice in that journal of yours." Rory watches her face light up and her heart starts to race at the sight. "Yeah, let's go." Jess smiles and carries her inside. Rory hopes that this is what's in store for their future. An untraditional family together and happy.

Jess patiently teaches Abby all three parts of a letter. The intro, body, and closing. She listens to him closely before nodding her head in understanding and trying to write it herself. He watches her write the intro, _Dear Uncle Jess_ , and his heart clenches. Jess's surprised that she's making another wish involving him. _I want to go to the dance right now_. He laughs at how brazen she is at only five-years-old. _Love, Abby_. Abby looks up at him for a reaction and he smirks. "You're definitely a Gilmore." Abby stares at him in confusion. "Go get ready for the dance, I'll take you early." A smile spreads across her face as she quickly wraps her small arms around him for a hug and then hops off the bed to go to her closet. Jess makes his way out of her room and he nearly runs into Rory who's standing right outside the doorway. "Did she bamboozle you?" Jess nods. "She wrote it in the letter, so I had to grant her wish." Rory gives him a genuine smile and it warms his heart. "Sucker." She says before walking into Abby's room and closing the door behind her. Jess is used to being bamboozled by a Gilmore, it's nothing new and it's something that he hopes never changes.

Jess waits for Abby to come out of her room for nearly an hour. He figures that Rory must have prolonged getting her dressed, so they wouldn't be too early. Jess knows that Abby is smart, but she tends to lose track of time when she's dressing up for something. He remembers when Abby had insisted on getting dressed four hours early for her Christmas Play a few months ago. Rory had skillfully taken her time fixing her hair and putting last minute touches on her costume. Abby hadn't noticed because she had been too busy rambling about her lines in the Play and telling Rory how excited she was. Jess smirks at the memory as he hears Abby's footsteps running down the hall. He looks up and can't contain his smile. She's now wearing a yellow dress with white shoes. Her hair is in a bun and it makes her look like a little princess. "Do I look pretty Uncle Jess?" Jess walks over and kneels in front of her. "You look beautiful." Abby beams at him, her blue eyes gleaming." Mommy says that I should wear a yellow ribbon in my hair, but I hate ribbons." Jess shakes his head. "Mommy doesn't know what she's talking about." More footsteps echo in the hallway and he locks eyes with Rory. "Hey, I heard that and I think the ribbon would look cute." Jess watches Abby turn to her mother with her hands on her hips in her defiant pose. "Me and Uncle Jess think I look pretty with no bow." Jess's eyes travel back to Rory and she smiles. "Alright, but you need to promise me that you'll wear the bow grandma bought you for the dance, when we take pictures tonight." Abby reluctantly nods and Jess takes her hand in his. He turns back to Rory who takes her cell phone out of her pocket and holds it up. "Let me take one picture before you go." Abby turns and her smile from earlier is back on her face. Jess puts his arm around her at his side. Rory takes a couple of pictures and they make their way out of the house.

Jess and Abby arrive to the school gym and are greeted by a photographer who takes some more pictures. He's never been particularly fond of taking pictures, but he'll do it for Abby. Her smile is infectious as she drags him to the dancefloor. The music blares some of those current pop songs he can't stand and he's surprised to see that most of the fathers are dancing with their daughters. He smiles down at Abby as she begins to dance to the rhythm of the music. She notices he's not dancing and grabs his hands to move along with her. Jess moves a little to appease her. He's never been much of a dancer and in his teens, he'd never have been caught dead dancing like this with someone. The song ends and another begins shortly after. Abby keeps him on the dancefloor for another two hours, before she leads him off to the punch bowl. Jess also gets a drink and is happy that they've finally stopped dancing. "All fathers and daughters, please make your way to the dancefloor for your special last dance of the night." Jess wants to kill the DJ, as he starts the next song. Unlike the previous songs in the last two hours, this one is slow. He looks down at Abby as she puts her cup down and locks eyes with him. Jess notes that she looks a little nervous standing there in front of him, as if she thinks he doesn't want to dance with her. Maybe she thinks that even though he's here with her, he doesn't think of her as his daughter. Jess holds out his hand and she tentatively grabs it. They walk to the dancefloor and share their first dance as father-daughter. Jess laughs as she steps on his toes a few times throughout the dance. He can't help but smile though at her determination to get this dance right. The dance ends and Abby looks up at him. She gives him a smile. "Thank you, daddy." Jess's heart feels like it's going to burst right open, as they walk out of the dance hand-in-hand.


	5. Talk to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Rory waits for Jess and Abby to return from the dance at her mother's house. She sits on the couch and hopes that everything went well tonight. "What's the deal?" Rory looks up at her mother who's just entered the room. "What?" Lorelai takes a seat on the recliner and locks eyes with her. "Are you and Jess together again?" Rory questions what she should say to her mother about her current status with Jess. Their relationship has always been undefinable in her eyes because they've been stuck between friendship and romance since High School. "No, not exactly." Lorelai raises her eyebrow at her response and she knows that she won't let this go. "What do you mean not exactly, your either with him kid or you're not? Rory averts her eyes from her mother and stares at the floor. She can feel her eyes burning into her and shifts uncomfortably on the couch. "Rory, please don't tell me that you two haven't talked about your big toe-to-toe match on the front porch." Rory shakes her head and sighs. She finally looks up at her mother. "I wrote him a letter." Lorelai leans forward on her chair. "You're going to have to take a step back and explain that to mommy." Rory fidgets with her hands, like she did when she had started Pre-School. It had been a habit that she had thankfully grown out of by the third grade, but now it's come back to haunt her because she feels like a child sitting here under her mother's scrutiny. "I wrote the letter because Abby asked me to. She wanted me to ask Jess if he'd come to Daddy Day and the dance after. He had told her that if her wish was written in a letter, it would come true. So, there I was trying to write the letter and nothing was coming to me. I knew that I wanted to say sorry for everything that happened between us, but I didn't know how to put it into words. Then your mini me came into the room and wisely told me that I should write from the heart and that's what I did." Lorelai stares wide-eyed at her and Rory notes that it's very rare to render her mother speechless.

The clock ticks by and Lorelai shakes her head. "I'll never understand your relationship with Jess and you know I've never been his biggest fan, but I've seen you three together over the years and what you have is the real thing sweets." Rory can hardly believe her mother's words. Isn't this the same woman that had initially mocked her novel because it had been Jess's idea? She locks eyes with her and tries to detect any dishonesty within them, but finds none. "You know you're talking about Jess Mariano, town delinquent, right?" Lorelai mocks offense by putting a hand over her heart and she can't help but smile. "I'm not talking about that Jess, I'm talking about the one that's been like a father figure to your daughter. _Your_ Luke." Rory's heart warms at her mother's words and she's happy that she finally sees the good man he's become, instead of the delinquent she knew. "He is my Luke, isn't he?" Lorelai nods and the front door opens. Abby comes running in with Jess not far behind her. Rory smiles at her daughter's excited energy and is relieved that things seemed to have went well. "Mommy, I had a lot of fun with Uncle Jess tonight." She scoops up her daughter and places her on her lap. "You did?" She nods her head. "Yeah, we danced to a lot of cool songs and we even danced to a special slow song." Rory's eyes leave her daughters and lock with Jess who's standing a little distance away. She can't help but smirk. "You danced?" Jess gives her his famous shrug. "Abby wanted to, so I figured I'd dance. Don't get any ideas Gilmore because I won't be dancing like that again." Rory shakes her head. "Wouldn't dream of it." Abby tugs on her shirt and she brings her attention back to her daughter. "Can I call Uncle Jess daddy now?" Rory's heart clenches at her daughter's sudden change in conversation. Her tone is now cautious, as if she's stepping into a minefield. Rory's eyes leave her daughter's once more and she locks eyes with Jess whose demeanor has also changed. He's shifting from foot-to-foot and she can see the fear in his eyes. Does he really think she'd deny her daughter a father-daughter relationship with him after everything they've been through together? "Yes, you can call him daddy now." His eyes change to one of emotion. She can see how much this change in his and Abby's relationship means to him. "Really mommy?" Rory tears her eyes away from Jess and nods at Abby. "Really." Abby jumps off her lap and rushes towards a stunned Jess. He picks her up and holds her closer to him. As if, he doesn't want to ever let go. The scene makes her eyes tear up and her heart happy. A box of tissues materializes in front of her and she looks up to see her mother crying too. It's a perfect moment in time that she'll forever commit to memory.

Rory barely registers Luke's arrival at the house because she can't keep her eyes off Jess and Abby playing a board game in the corner. The two of them haven't left each other's side since the scene twenty minutes ago. "Earth to Rory, did you hear me calling you for the last five minutes?" She snaps out of her trance and turns to see her mother. "No, I guess that scene earlier really got me." Her mother appears next to her. "It got to me too. I think you should eat dinner and leave the munchkin here with me and Luke tonight. Give you time to have that talk with Jess." Rory nods at her mother's suggestion, her eyes sill on Jess and Abby. "I'm so happy for you kid." Rory tears her eyes away from two of the three people she loves most in this world. She locks eyes with the third and smiles. "Thanks mom." Lorelai gives her a warm smile in return. "Let's eat before Luke has a fit." They walk towards the kitchen. "I heard that." Her and her mother laugh as they make it to the kitchen with the surly man glaring at them form the stove.

Jess finishes his dinner and clears the dishes from the table. He makes his way over to the sink and hands his uncle the first plate to wash. Jess picks up the towel on the rack, ready to dry the wet plates coming his way. Luke turns to Jess as he hands him the first dish. "You never help me with dishes, what's going on?" Jess shakes his head as he finishes drying the plate. "Rory and I are supposed to talk about everything tonight and I need some advice." Luke gives him a smug smirk. "You want advice from me?" Jess shakes his head. "Don't make it a bigger deal than it is." Luke starts on the next plate. "Alright, what kind of advice are you looking for?" Jess pauses, trying not to feel anxious about the whole thing. "How do I keep myself from getting mad and storming out during our talk?" Luke stops cleaning the dish that's in his hand and turns to him. "What makes you think you'll storm out?" Jess places the towel back on the rack and sighs. "Whenever we laid everything out on the table like this in the past, I bolted. I'm not great with talking about my emotions and I don't want to do that to her this time." There's a brief break in conversation, before Luke gives him a small smile. "You're not the same punk you were back then. You've gotten better expressing your emotions around Abby. Remember that you're doing this for her and for you. I've watched you and Rory avoid talking about how you feel for years. Tell her you love her and things will work out." Jess gives his uncle a smirk. "Thanks Uncle Luke." He picks up the dish from earlier and turns the faucet back on. "Anytime kid." Jess helps him finish the dishes and hopes that his uncle is right about things working out between him and Rory. Jess knows that he can't screw-up this time because this is his last chance, their last chance to get this thing between them right.


	6. Forgive Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This is the chapter everyone has been waiting for.

Jess follows Rory into her house and takes a long breath. He makes his way over to the couch and sits down. Rory follows suit and sits beside him. Their silent for a few moments, neither one knowing how to start this dreaded conversation. "Thanks for coming through for Abby today." Jess registers her words and locks eyes with her. "I'd do anything for that kid, you know that." Rory nods at his words. "I do know that and that's why I'm allowing her to call you daddy." Another silence falls between them. Jess feels like this might be shaping up to be the slowest conversation in history at the rate they're going. "Jess, I'm sorry about how things have turned out between us. I wish I had come to my senses earlier about us, but my feelings for Logan kind of took over my life. I meant what I said in the letter about being thankful that you've always been there for me, for my daughter. Can you ever forgive me for how I treated you the years after our break-up?" Jess takes a moment to analyze her words and wonders why she isn't laying blame on him for their strenuous relationship. He locks eyes with her and an image of Abby's smiling face at the dance comes to him. Jess smiles and finds the courage to continue. "Not everything that happened between us was your fault Rory. I was lost and angry when I left Stars Hollow. Your life was moving forward and mine was at an impasse. If I had stayed, I'd have only dragged you down with me. I couldn't do that to you, so I left." Rory's eyes suddenly darken and she gets up from the couch. "If you had talked to me about it, I'd have helped you. You wouldn't have dragged me down with you, so don't use that as an excuse. You left because things got hard and you couldn't handle it. You took the selfish way out and broke my heart in the process." Jess can tell that her feelings about him leaving all those years ago, have been building up inside of her for years. Ready to spill out at the slightest provocation. "You're right, I was selfish then, but I also wasn't right for you Rory. We were heading down two very different paths and our timing was off." Rory takes a breath and the anger clouding her eyes moments ago is gone. "I still would have stayed with you, right timing or not, because I was in love with you." Jess freezes at her words and is surprised that she knows how she had definitively felt at that time.

He remembers their brief conversation after her graduation and how she had said that she thought she was in love with him, but it didn't matter. Of course, it had mattered and it had broken his heart to hear her utter that her feelings for him had no longer meant anything. He looks over at her and sighs. "I want you to know that I didn't call or write you for a year becasue I was afraid that you had moved on, found someone better for you. Then I needed my car and I blurted out my feelings like an idiot. I'm sorry I ran, but I hadn't expected the wave of emotions I had felt seeing you again. So, I did what I did best, and ran." He looks away from her feeling more insecure than he's ever felt in her presence. "You don't think that I felt the same way seeing you again? I told you in the letter that I hadn't moved on because I still had hope that you'd come back to me. So, when you showed up, part of me wanted to tell you to leave, but the other part of me wanted to beg you to stay. I told you my head and my heart were often conflicted when it came to you." Jess nods and remembers that part of the letter the most surprising. He had been certain after she had said no to running away with him to New York, that she had never actually loved him. How could she? He had been a loser who had no plan for the future. Jess brings his eyes back to Rory. "When you said no, I decided that it was time to clean up my life and make something of myself. I got a job at a small press and wrote a book. Your steadfast belief in me had given me the drive I needed to write my novel. Without your encouragement, I would have never written anything. I said thank you then when I had given you a copy of my novel, but I want to say it again now. Thank you, Rory, for always believing that I was worth more than the loser I saw myself as." Jess can see the tears forming in her eyes at his words and his heart aches.

Rory feels the tears begin down her cheeks and she knows that her emotions are everywhere right now. She had gone from fear, to anger, and then to love. All of the conflicting emotions work together to make her a blubbering mess, which is something she didn't want Jess to see. Rory can't seem to bring her eyes back to his as they sit quietly on the couch. Her heart skips a beat when he grabs her face with both hands. "Rory, I didn't intend to make you cry, but I want you to know that you're the reason I'm a published author today, even though I think my work isn't half as good as people make it out to be." Rory chuckles through her tears. "You don't give yourself much credit. You're an amazing writer, you've always been amazing." Jess stiffens at her words and Rory can't help but get lost in his eyes. They used to be mysterious, but now their transparent. She no longer has to guess how the man in front of her feels and it makes her heart skip a beat. Jess moves his hand and tucks some hair behind her ear. The feeling of his touch makes her shiver. He hasn't touched her like this in so long and she's thankful to be this close to him again. Jess tentatively leans in and she closes her eyes in response. Her heart is hammering away in her chest as his lips touch hers. Rory can feel the slight pressure against her lips and she kisses him back. The kiss quickly turns passionate, both completely lost in each other.

A familiar ringtone fills the air and it takes a moment for Rory to register it. The moment she does, she quickly pulls back from Jess and makes her way over to her purse hanging from a hanger by the front door. She opens the purse and presses the talk button. "Hi mommy." Rory turns to look over at Jess who's watching her with a smile playing on his lips. "Hi sweetie, what are you doing calling so late?" There's a momentary silence on the other end. "Your daughter is sneaky. I told her that she couldn't call you and we argued for an hour about it. I thought she had finally given in when I tucked her in, but then bam, the damn kid tricked me." Rory can't help but laugh, even though she knows that she's going to have to sit Abby down later and explain that she needs to respect her elders. "So, what, being sneaky is a Gilmore thing." Lorelai scoffs on the other end of the phone. "I'm not sneaky." Rory rolls her eyes. "Do you remember when Sherry gave us those deviled eggs at her baby shower? She looks over at Jess again and their eyes lock. "Vaguely." Rory smiles at her mother's remark. "Well, let me refresh your memory then, we thought it would be a good idea to throw those said deviled eggs at Jess's car. No one suspected us, hence the sneakiness." Jess's eyes widen at the revelation and she can't help but laugh at his expression. He had scraped his precious car for nearly three days to get all of the smelly boiled eggs off. "Jess is listening to this conversation, isn't he?" Rory smiles once more at the shock on Jess's face. "Yeah." She can hear Lorelai laugh on the other end. "Mommy taught you well." There's a short pause on the phone. "I just want to say goodnight mommy." She can't keep the smile off her face. "Goodnight sweetie, I love you." Rory's just about to hang-up the phone, thinking that her daughter is waiting for her to hang-up first, when she hears her daughter take a big breath. "Mommy, can I say goodnight to daddy too?" Rory waves Jess over and he quickly makes his way over to her. She can see the confusion written on his face, but hands him her cell anyway. He puts the phone to his ear and a smile appears on his face moments later. "I love you too Abby, now listen to grandma and go to sleep. We'll see you at the diner tomorrow morning." Rory watches Jess end the call and his eyes lock with hers. He gives her a smirk. "We're going to have our hands full with that one." She can't help but give him a smile. "Don't I know it." Rory closes the distance between them and gives him another kiss, signaling that they've put the past behind them. Finally, starting on a new path together.


	7. New Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Jess and Rory walk into Luke's diner the next morning. Jess feels like he's been living in a dream since last night. He had ended up getting the life with Rory he has always wanted. Even when he was that seventeen-year old punk, he had known with every fiber of his being that Rory was the one that he had wanted to spend his life with. There is no denying that she has gotten under his skin permanently and that's why he had decided to break things off with his girlfriend the night he had received the letter. She was a great girl and he could have grown to love her, but she's not Rory. _No_ woman will ever be like Rory. He's searched years for someone to compare to her and hasn't found anyone.

Jess spots Abby sitting at the counter eating oatmeal. He knows for a fact that she hates oatmeal and figures that Luke is on his health kick again. Rory makes her way to the counter and sits next to her. "Good morning sweetie." Abby turns to her with a frown. "Please don't make me eat this oatmeal mommy." Jess decides to make his presence known and takes a seat on the other side of Abby. "Hey, oatmeal isn't that bad." Abby quickly turns her head to look at him. She gives him a wide smile and wraps her arms around him. Jess will never get tired of these hugs and how happy they make him feel. She pulls back moments later and sits back on her stool. Her eyes lock steadily with his. "Then, you eat it daddy." Jess feels a warmth envelop his heart at the way she calls him daddy. She says it with so much hope and love that it makes him feel needed. Jess can't help but smirk. "Sorry kid, grandpa Luke asked you to eat this for breakfast, not me." Abby turns away from him and crosses her arms across her chest. Jess exchanges a look with Rory and she turns Abby's stool towards her. "You need to listen to what adults are telling you to do, you can't pick and choose what directions you want to follow." Abby shakes her head and Rory locks eyes with him. Jess swivels the chair his way and does his best to appear stern. "Abby, please look at me." She reluctantly shifts her focus from the floor up to his eyes. He takes a deep breath. "You know that I'm new at this dad stuff, but I want to be the best dad I can be for you. I can't do that if you don't want to listen." Jess watches Abby's eyes soften. "I'll listen daddy, but you're already the best ever." She turns back to her bowl and begins to eat her oatmeal. Jess's eyes return to Rory and she gives him a smile. Maybe this dad stuff won't be as hard as he's always pictured it to be.

After breakfast, Rory leads her daughter by the hand out of Luke's. Jess walks on the other side of Abby and they make their way through town. She looks over at him and feels proud of how he just disciplined Abby. Rory knows she's no expert on parenting, but she had thought that Jess had done a good job correcting her behavior and attitude towards her elders. He must feel her gaze because he turns to meet her eyes. He gives her a smirk and her heart flutters. "Mommy, daddy, where are we going?" Rory wracks her brain on what they could do today, but comes up blank. Other than the bookstore that Abby has scoured from top to bottom, there's nothing much for young kids to do in town. "I've got an idea where to go." Jess navigates them through town, until they reach the lake. She hasn't been here in years, probably since right after her break-up with Jess. Rory never told anyone that she came to the lake a few times after Jess had left. She hadn't been able to put the lake behind her, much like she couldn't leave Jess in her past. Rory can't help but smile at the memories this place holds for them. Good or bad, this has always been their place. Now, she's excited that they will be sharing it with _their_ daughter.

Jess walks onto the old bridge and sits at the water's edge. Abby follows suit and makes her way over to sit by him. "Abby, sweetie, be careful by the water." Abby nods that she understands and Rory sits down on the other side of Jess. He turns and gives her a smirk. "I haven't been out here since that swan beaked me." Rory can't help but laugh at the image of a swan giving him a black eye. "Is that why you had a black eye at my grandparent's house that one time you came over?" Jess nods and looks at the water below. "Yeah, I'm not proud of how I acted that night, but my ego was bruised." Rory remembers how she had jumped to conclusions and thought that he had started a fight with Dean. Boy, how wrong she had been. "A swan hurt you daddy, that's silly." Jess turns to Abby and smiles. "It wasn't silly, he attacked me." Rory smiles at Jess's ridiculous blame on the swan. "Did you get a good look at his description?" Jess gives her a glare. "Make fun of me all you want, but that swan could have poked my eye out." Rory shakes her head. "Oh man, I wish I had pictures." Jess shakes his head and looks out at the lake. "I like this place daddy." Rory watches Jess put his arm around their daughter and hold out his other arm for her to snuggle into. They stay like that for a long time, making a new memory as a family.

Jess, Rory, and Abby return to their house two hours later for lunch. Jess makes his way into the kitchen and walks over to the freezer. He pulls out a box of frozen pizza and puts it in the oven. Jess isn't surprised that all Rory has in her freezer is this box of pizza and three cartons of ice-cream. It's the Gilmore way. "Please don't burn the house down." Jess turns and gives her a smirk. "Do I look like a Gilmore to you?" Rory walks over to him and slaps him playfully on the arm. "Face it Jess, you're an unofficial Gilmore." Jess shakes his head. "Keep dreaming." Jess hears little feet coming towards the kitchen and turns to see Abby barreling in. She gives him a wide smile. "Daddy, you know how to cook?" Jess picks her up. "Yes, I know how to cook. I used to help your grandpa at Luke's." Abby giggles and his heart lifts. "Grandpa let you cook?" Jess nods at her. "Don't look so surprised kid." He hears laughter from behind him and turns to see Rory. She's amused at his expense, but he's still happy to see that smile on her face again. The one that she used to have whenever they bantered or went out together. Rory had lost herself for a long time and he's glad that she's come back to him. Jess gives her a frown and turns back to Abby. "Do me a favor and don't turn out like your mom over there." Abby gives him another smile. "Too late daddy." Jess shakes his head and turns to Rory. "You heard her, it's too late. You're just going to have to be a Gilmore too." He feigns annoyance. "Never." Abby and Rory exchange a look. The timer on the oven beeps and Jess places Abby down on the ground. He grabs an oven mitt and opens the oven to take out the pizza. Jess puts the pan with the pizza on the stove and turns to see both _his_ girls whispering to each other. Rory is kneeling on the ground and Abby has her hands cupped over Rory's ear. "What are you two up to?" They stop whispering and quickly break apart. Jess takes a step towards them. "Sorry daddy, Gilmore's only." He turns to Rory who's giving him a mischievous smile. He kneels to the ground. "Huh." He makes his way back over to the stove and points to the pizza. "Well, I guess that I'll be eating this pizza alone then because it's only for Mariano's." Jess can't help but smirk as their faces fall and Abby gives him that puppy dog look she's mastered over the years. He looks between them for a couple of moments and then sighs. "Okay, team Gilmore can have a piece, but I want to know what you two were whispering earlier." Abby's face lights up and she makes her way towards him. "Mommy and me wanted to take all your pizza." He looks over at Rory. "Your teaching her how to steal now?" Rory shrugs and gives him a smile. "I knew you were going to pull that trick with the pizza Mariano." Jess smiles at the two most important people in his world. "Alright, let's eat, I wouldn't want to deprive two Gilmores of food." They all sit down for lunch and Jess can't help but feel like everything is the way it's supposed to be. The three of them sharing the first of many meals together.


	8. What Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Rory wakes up the next morning to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through the air. She opens her eyes and blinks a few times. Is she dreaming? Breakfast is never made in this house, for the exception of pop tarts. Rory quickly gets out of bed and makes her way downstairs. She reaches the bottom and walks into the kitchen to see Jess and Abby making breakfast. Abby is standing safely away from the stove by the toaster and Jess is cooking a few slabs of bacon in a pan. The sight makes her heart warm within her chest. "Mommy, I'm helping daddy make breakfast." She steps further into the kitchen and smiles. "I can see that." Jess turns to look at her and he gives her a smirk. "Morning sleepy head." Rory makes her way over to the stove and gives him a kiss. She loves that she's able to kiss him as often as she wants now. "What's all this?" He turns the burner off and places the sizzling bacon on the plate sitting on the counter. "I figured we could eat breakfast together this morning because I'm heading back to Philadelphia tomorrow." Rory's heart drops at his words. She had forgotten for a little while that Jess has a life that doesn't include her or Abby. He turns to Abby. "Where's my helper?" Abby bounds towards him and puts the freshly made bread on the three plates also sitting on the counter. "It's ready daddy." Jess nods and turns to Rory. He observes her for a moment and frowns. "What's the matter?" She should have known that Jess would pick-up on her sudden change in mood. He's always had the ability to read her like a book. Rory looks at him and her heart aches. "We'll talk about it later." Jess hesitantly nods and she makes her way over to the table to sit. Rory watches his eyes tear away from her, as he helps Abby bring the plates to the table. Rory wonders what they're going to do now that their together. Maybe her and Abby could move to Philadelphia when summer starts in a month or Jess could move here full time. Rory contemplates this as Abby places her plate in front of her. "Daddy gave you extra bacon because you're sad." She is knocked out of her thoughts and she turns to Jess who's brewing some coffee. "Very dirty sending a child to find out what's wrong, Mariano." Jess shakes his head. "Well, you're not talking, so Abby is my best bet." Her daughter pulls at the sleeve of her t-shirt and she turns to look at her. Abby now has her hands on her hips in that pose she loves. "You have to tell us what's wrong mommy. Daddy and me want you to be happy." Rory can't help but smile at her little girl who seems to be wise beyond her years. It reminds her of herself at that age, Rory just hopes that she doesn't toss it away like she had.

She picks Abby up from the ground and sits her down on her knees. Rory looks over at Jess who's walking over with two cups of freshly made coffee in each hand. He gives her one cup and sits in the chair on the opposite side of the table. Rory takes a breath and looks between them for a few moments. She finally locks eyes with her daughter because she's not able to bring herself to look at Jess. "Fine, I'm sad because I don't want your daddy to leave tomorrow." Abby grabs her hand and squeezes. "I'm sad too mommy, but daddy is coming back." Again, her daughter astounds her. How in the world could she put things into perspective for her? Deep down she knows Jess won't abandon them, but some stubborn part of her is afraid that if he leaves tomorrow, he'll decide it's too hard to make the relationship work and leave her broken. Again. Just as she had felt when she had been seventeen. "Rory." Her whole being responds to his voice and she looks up at him. Jess is staring at her so intensely that she couldn't turn away if she tried. "I'm coming back, you can't get rid of me that easily." Rory gives Jess a smile and feels a sense of relief wash over her. He gives her a smirk back and her eyes come to rest on her daughter who's smiling. "I told you so mommy. Daddy loves us too much to leave." Abby turns to Jess. "Right daddy?" Jess stares at them both warmly. "Right Abby, you're both stuck with me whether you like it or not, forever." Abby giggles and Rory feels her heart do a flip at his words. She decides that forever is the best word she's ever heard and it's even better coming out of Jess Mariano's mouth.

Jess finishes cleaning the dishes and makes his way into the living room where his family is sitting. _His_ family. He never could have imagined that he'd be here with the love of his life and their daughter. Living a relatively cliché suburban existence and being completely happy for the first time in his life. Seventeen-year old Jess may have laughed at this possibility, but he wouldn't. He hadn't known that he had wanted this life until the day that Abby was born. Jess had taken one look at her and wished that he was her father. That he and Rory would live a domestic life just like this. As his eyes fall on the two of them cuddled up on the couch and watching a movie, he knows without a doubt that his dream has come true. Life has finally thrown him a bone. Jess settles in between them and Abby giggles. "Daddy, you're squishing me." He turns to give her a smirk. "Sorry kid." Rory nudges his side and he turns to her. "We should talk about what we're going to do." He nods and turns back to Abby. "Abby, mommy and I are going to talk in the kitchen. We'll be back soon." Abby nods, too engrossed in the movie to care. Jess follows Rory into the kitchen and they sit across from each other. "Rory, I know you're worried about how this is all going to go, but we'll find a way to make it work." Rory nods and he knows that she's trying not to freak out over everything. Jess reaches across and grabs her hand that's resting on the table. "Let's make a pro-con list, I know you're thinking it." Her eyes go wide. "How did you know?" He gives her a smirk. "I know how you tick Gilmore." Rory gives him a look and gets up from the table. She walks over to the refrigerator and reaches up to grab a notepad and a pen. Rory walks back to the table and sits in her seat.

Jess watches her write the two words that will decide their fate. "I was thinking that Abby and I can move to Philadelphia during the summer. It would make the transition easier for her." Jess nods and takes a breath. "I think I should get things settled at the store, maybe sell my half of it. I don't want to uproot Abby when she has Luke and your mom here. She also has a few friends I met during the dance." Rory splits the page in half, creating columns. "Okay, pro for moving to Philadelphia." Jess taps his fingers on the table. "I wouldn't have to sell my half of Truncheon." Rory writes it down. "Con for moving." Jess thinks for a moment. "Stars Hollow is the only place she's ever known." Rory nods at his words. "Pro for staying." Jess thinks for another moment. "Your mom, Luke, and the rest of the town won't murder me for taking their princess and princess in training away from them." Jess gives her a smirk, attempting to lighten the mood between them. She gives him a smile in return. "Ha-ha, con for staying." Jess wracks his brain and can't seem to come up with anything. "I don't have any cons, I think we should stay." Rory shakes her head in frustration. "I don't want you giving up your business for us." Jess gives her a frown. "This weekend made me realize that I can be happy without my stake in Truncheon because I have you and Abby." He watches Rory contemplate his words for several moments, before locking eyes with him. "I don't think selling your half of Truncheon is the right choice. You started that press from the ground up and I don't want to see you throw all that hard work down the drain. If we stay, I think you should hire someone to run the store and drop in from time to time. You can still run your business and be here with us." Jess considers her proposal and tries to think of someone who could take over for him. Maybe his friend Mark would do it. He's been looking for a promotion and he puts in twice the work that everyone else at the store does. Most importantly, Jess knows that he could trust Mark to run things. He can't say the same for the rest of the employees that work there. Jess's eyes meet hers. "Alright, I'll keep the store and ask my buddy Mark to run it. That way we can stay in Stars Hollow. Wow, never thought I'd hear that come out of my mouth." Rory puts down her pen and makes her way over to him. She sits on his lap and he can't help but smirk at her brazenness. "I knew it was a matter of time before you became a townie." Jess has always hated that term because he's from New York City and considers himself a city boy. He shakes his head and sighs. "I guess it's time for me to get a strait jacket, if I'm now a part of this crazy town." Rory gives him a wide smile. "Sounds like a very good investment." She leans forward and gives him a kiss. They've officially got a plan and he intends to stick to it for the rest of his life.


	9. Goodbye for Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Rory follows Jess and Abby out to the front porch. Her heart is aching at the thought of him leaving for a month. It boggles her mind that a few days ago, this separation would have felt routine to her. In fact, there were months at a time that she didn't see Jess. Now, the thought of being away from him tears at her heart. She watches him place his duffle on the ground and pick up their daughter. Abby squeezes him tightly and snuggles her little face into the crook of his neck. The scene makes her tear up a little and she decides that it's the perfect picture moment. Rory snaps a few shots and her heart is filled with so much love. For this amazing man, for their daughter, and for the family that they've managed to create together. Minutes pass, but Abby refuses to let go of Jess. He whispers something into her ear that Rory can't hear and her daughter giggles in response. Jess makes his way over to her and smirks. "I think we might have to get the jaws of life to pry our little girl away from me." Rory can't help but laugh when Abby squeezes onto her father tighter. "I guess someone is going to miss you." Jess smirks and takes another step towards her. "And you won't, Gilmore?" She gives him a smile and wishes she could kiss him properly, but she settles for a quick kiss instead. Abby finally lifts her head and looks at Jess. "Will you bring me back some books daddy?" Jess smiles at their daughter and her heart lifts. "You've already read through the books I got you on your birthday?" Abby nods and he shakes his head. "Your one crazy kid, you know that?" Their daughter waves her finger at him. "No crazier than you, daddy." Jess laughs at Abby's remark. "Touché." Jess tickles her stomach and sets her down on the porch. Rory gives him another smile, knowing that their time is coming to an end. He walks over to her and kisses her properly this time. Rory wonders if she'll ever get used to the fact that he's finally _hers_ and only _hers_. "Eww." They break apart and Rory sees Abby standing between them. Her face is scrunched up in disgust, which she usually reserves for vegetables she hates eating. Broccoli being her worst enemy. Rory can't help but smile at her daughter's reaction. "I think we've traumatized her enough." Her eyes lock with Jess's and her heart stop. This is it for now, but what's that when they have the rest of their lives together. Rory keeps this mantra playing on a loop in her mind, as Jess kisses Abby on the top of her head and then turns to kiss her on the forehead. He turns to pick up his duffle bag and makes it to the bottom of the stairs. Jess turns one more time to face her and Abby. "We love you daddy." He gives them one last smirk and it causes her heart to flutter. "I love you both too, stay out of trouble while I'm gone." With that, he turns to walk over to his car and her eyes follow him until he's out of sight.

Jess arrives back at his apartment and checks his mail in the mailroom. He then makes his way to the elevator and hits the up button. It's only been a little over three hours and he's missing Rory and Abby more than he'd like to admit. Is he really a family man now? Jess shakes his head and the elevator dings. The doors open and he steps out. He walks down the hall to his apartment and unlocks the door. Jess enters the doorway and drops his duffle bag by the door. He looks around and tries to decide how many boxes he'll need to pack up his stuff. He makes a mental note to grab about ten boxes to fit the little he has in his apartment. Jess looks at the clock hanging on his wall and takes note of the time. He leaves his place and walks back to the elevator to take it down to the ground floor. Jess steps out and makes his way out of the apartment complex. He heads towards Truncheon down the street because he knows that a new shipment of books was due in this morning and he wants to grab those empty boxes before Mark gets rid of them at two o'clock. He used to complain about the clutter in the stockroom, so now he takes care of the boxes. Jess has never asked where he takes the boxes after each shipment every month, but he has a system that makes them disappear. Jess hopes to make his life easier by grabbing the boxes now, so he won't have to worry about it later. He nearly runs into Mark, as he opens the door to Truncheon. Mark's in the process of carrying two boxes out to his car and he gives him a smile. "What's the hurry, man?" Jess points to the boxes in his hands. "I need ten of those boxes from the shipment." He gives him a look. "Why do you need boxes?" Jess shakes his head. "I've decided to move to a little town in Connecticut." Mark smirks at his words. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain little girl you took to a dance and her mother, would it?" Jess sighs at his question. "So, what if it does." His friend holds up his hands. "Sorry I asked, but good for you Jess, you finally got the girl." Mark hands him the first two boxes and he follows him to his car to get the rest. They set to work unloading them onto the concrete. "What do you do with these boxes anyway?" Mark places the last box on the concrete and gives him a smile. "I take them back to my apartment and store the library of books I've collected over the years. It's in that extra room in my apartment" Jess has never bothered to see that extra room and he shakes his head. "Sounds about right." They haul the boxes to his apartment and Jess sets out packing. He knows it's only the first night, but he'd like to try and surprise the girls with a visit next weekend. He'll just bring his boxes to Rory's house, _their_ house, and move his furniture closer to the end of the month. Maybe find a storage shelter to store it or sell it. Jess knows this is going to be a long ordeal, so he starts in his room and works his way around the apartment from there.

Jess's cell rings in his pocket and he can't stop the smirk from appearing on his face. "Daddy." He makes his way over to his couch and plops down. "Didn't I just say goodbye to you?" He hears her giggle. "You did, but mommy and me miss you already." Jess shakes his head. "I miss you two knuckleheads too." Jess tries to picture Abby and Rory sitting around Rory's cell phone in the kitchen. Hanging on his every word like he's hanging on every word they utter. "Jess, I talked to Luke today and he said that he'd be out to help you move in a few weeks." He nods, knowing that his uncle would move heaven and earth for anyone he cares about. Luke's blind devotion to help others, even when they don't want it, had annoyed him when he was seventeen. He couldn't understand why his uncle liked fixing everyone and being a doormat. Then, one day, he had realized that Luke does these things for others because he is selfless. Luke never expects anything in return and Jess admires that most about him. "Tell Luke thanks for me." He always makes sure to thank his uncle, whenever he helps him out, to let him know that he appreciates what he's doing for him now, even if he didn't at seventeen. "Daddy, mommy and me put stuff in boxes today." Jess taps his fingers on the armrest and smirks. "You didn't tell me we were moving?" Abby giggles on the other end and his heart warms. "Your silly daddy, we made space." Jess grips his cell closer to his ear. "Space where?" His daughter sighs on the other end of the phone, clearly losing her patience with him. "In mommy's closet." He stiffens for a second at her words, it's finally hitting him that they're really doing this. There's no more roadblocks, idiot boyfriends, or lingering issues between them. The slate has been wiped clean, this marking the first step in them officially becoming a family. "I can't imagine that mommy got rid of all those pairs of shoes she loves." Jess puts his feet on the coffee table and lays his head back against the couch. He waits for the comeback he's sure to come. "For your information, I got rid of fifteen pairs of shoes today for you." Jess can't help but laugh at her response. "Rory, you have at least fifty pairs of shoes in your closet. Is my space a tiny corner?" He hears Rory huff. "Hey mister, you're lucky I got rid of any of my pairs of shoes, considering most were over three hundred dollars each. My grandma would probably kill me if she found out." Jess lets out a laugh. "Are you laughing at me Mariano?" He shakes his head. "I'm just picturing your grandmother holding a pitchfork and telling me it's all my fault you had to sell a few pairs of shoes she bought you." He hears Rory and Abby laugh in unison and it's the best sound he's heard all day. "I went around town all day to sell these shoes and when I went to my mothers, she nearly disowned me." Jess shifts on the couch, thinking about Lorelai's reaction to her only daughter running around town, selling shoes for him. He knows that she used to hate him, but he likes to think that she's warmed up to him over the years. Maybe even respects him for being there for Abby and Rory, but he also knows that she didn't react well because he's still that punk deep down that left and broke her daughter's heart once upon a time. That's something he can't erase and she can't forget. "I'm sorry I missed you two having such a rough day." Jess gets up and walks over to the fridge. He had skipped dinner to pack and he's starving. Jess knows that he has some sandwich meat in the fridge somewhere. "I'm sure you are, Mariano." He smirks at her words and grabs the lunchmeat with the hand that's not holding the phone. Jess kicks the door closed with his foot and makes his way over to the counter. "We love you daddy." A smile appears on his face once more. "I love you too, make sure daddy doesn't get put on the Gilmore hit list." Jess walks across the kitchen and grabs a plate. He puts it on the counter. "Ha-ha, very funny Jess, now look who's teaching our daughter something bad." He smirks at the memory of Rory teaching Abby how to steal _his_ pizza from him the other night. "I guess our parenting skills need some work." Rory laughs on the other end. "I guess they do, we'll talk to you tomorrow, it's someone's bedtime" Jess puts two pieces of bread on his plate. "Goodnight." The call ends and he gets ready for his first night alone without _his_ girls.


	10. Look Who's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter will feature Jess's surprise visit to Stars Hollow.

Rory follows her daughter into the bookstore. Abby is so excited, that she's starts skipping through the aisles. Rory had agreed to buy her the calendar that she's been asking for since Jess had left. Abby had stood with her hands on her hips and said firmly that she had needed the calendar so she could count down the days until Jess came back. Rory told her that she didn't think that she needed it and Abby had continued to pester her for it for the next few days. She had finally relented and now she can't help but smile at her daughter so excited over a calendar. Rory waves at Andrew as she passes the cash register. "Mommy, over here." She continues to smile at her daughter's eagerness and makes her way over to the last aisle in the store. Rory sees Abby on her tiptoes trying to reach the shelf that holds the calendars. "What are you doing?" Her daughter turns and gives her a smile. "I want that one." Abby points to the calendar that has dolphins on the front and she isn't surprised because she's been obsessed with dolphins since she was a baby. Rory hadn't understood her fascination with the creatures, but Jess had joked that it probably had something to do with the dolphin sounds that she had played for Abby while she had been in the womb. Rory had read somewhere that it was good for the baby's brain activity, so she had bought and downloaded the dolphin track on her I-Pod. Rory grabs the calendar and hands it down to Abby. She gives her a smile and starts skipping down the aisle again. Rory can't keep the smile off her face, as she follows her to the cash register. Andrew is ringing it up by the time she reaches the counter. He gives them both a smile. "That'll be 12. 50." Rory slides her credit card through the reader and Andrew hands her a receipt a few moments later. "Have a good day girls." Rory nods as she follows Abby out the door. "Thanks Andrew." She clutches the calendar to her chest as she begins to walk down the sidewalk. Rory catches up to her and they make their way towards their house. She quickly pulls out her cell from her purse and checks the time. It's 6:50 and Jess had promised to call them at 7. "Mommy, I can't wait to tell daddy that I got a cool dolphin calendar." Rory smiles at her daughter's words, as their house appears in the distance. Her heart stops when she sees a familiar car parked in the driveway.

Before she can even register what's happening, Abby takes off running towards the house. Rory has never seen her daughter run so fast. Once she registers everything, her pulse quickens and so does her pace. She makes her way across the lawn and opens the front door to see Jess embracing Abby. Her heart warms at the sight and she's happy that he's here with them. It's been a long few days without him and she's missed him more than she'll ever admit. Jess picks up Abby and his eyes lock with hers. "What are you doing here?" Jess gives her a smirk. "Geez, Rory, I thought you'd be a little happy to see me." Rory closes the space between them and gives him a quick kiss. "I am very happy to see you, but I thought you weren't coming back for another three weeks." Jess uses the hand that's not holding Abby and takes a piece of hair out of her face. "What can I say, I couldn't stay away." Rory smiles at him. "I'm not really back, I just wanted to move some of my boxes in and surprise you." She can't help but smile at this wonderful man that continues to surprise her. "Well, mission accomplished." Jess gives her another short kiss and Abby shifts in his arms. "You're not staying daddy?" Rory looks over at her daughter, her bright smile gone and a frown now present. Jess turns his head to her. "I still have some things to take care of in Philadelphia, but I promise once that's done, I'll be all yours." Abby locks eyes with him. "You, pinky promise daddy?" She holds out her pinky and Jess locks his larger pinky with hers. "I promise." Abby's smile returns and Jess gives her a smirk. Rory is happy to have her family back together, even if it's just temporary because she knows it will be permanent soon enough.

Two hours later, Jess sits on the couch with a sleeping Abby in his lap. She had spent an hour showing him her dolphin calendar that she had bought to keep track of the days that he was gone. It had made him feel an overwhelming sense of happiness at the thought of Abby marking the days until his return. For the exception of Abby and Rory, no one has ever depended on him like they do. Rory depends on him to be a stable partner who will stay by her side and help her raise Abby as his own. Abby depends on him to be a good father who's always there to support and love her. Something her biological father couldn't provide. Just thinking about that blonde dick makes his blood boil. He could never imagine abandoning the beautiful little girl in his arms. Abby's too much a part of him for him to ever let her go. Her little snores fill the air and Jess picks her up to take her to bed. He quietly walks up the stairs and reaches the top. Jess makes his way down the hallway and opens Abby's door. He pulls back the covers and gently places her in the bed. Jess tucks her in and kisses her gently on the forehead. Abby stirs a little in her sleep, but she doesn't wake up. He smirks and turns to see Rory standing in the doorway. She's smiling at him and his heart lifts. "Are you trying to upstage me in parenting?" Jess can't wipe the smirk off his face, as he walks over to her and puts his hands on her hips. "Me, never." Rory places her hands on his back and the moment gives him a preview of how life is going to be once he moves in. Tucking Abby in every night and then spending moments like this one with the woman he's loved since he was seventeen. "We've really missed you around here." Jess gives her a quick kiss. "Oh yeah, why don't you show me how much?" Rory leans in and gives him a long kiss. It's filled with more passion than any of their other kisses they've shared since getting back together. She surprises him when she starts to guide him to her, now _their_ bedroom.

They reach the room and stumble through the doorway. Jess can feel his pulse and heart beating simultaneously, threatening to completely take him over. Rory falls back on the bed and he's brought back to when they had been in a similar situation at Kyle's party. He had been stupid that night, pissed at the mess that was his life and he had taken out his frustration on her. It had been one of the biggest mistakes he had made involving Rory and he had regretted it a long time after that. They hadn't been ready then to take that next step, but they are now. Jess leans in and starts to kiss her, just as the doorbell rings downstairs. He rolls over to the side, knowing that Rory won't just ignore whoever's at the door. She stands and turns to him with a smile. "Sorry." Jess nods his head in understanding. "We're not finished Gilmore." Rory smirks at him. "I'm well-aware of that, Mariano." With that, she disappears out of their room. Jess smirks as he lays back on the bed, loving how they both seem to be falling seamlessly into their domestic roles together, as if they were created just for them.

Rory almost takes a page out of Abby's book and skips to the door, but she thinks better of it because she remembers that she's an adult. And more importantly, someone might lock her up if she comes to the door skipping like an idiot. Jess being here with her is making her crazy, but in a good way. Rory tries to compose her emotions, as she makes her way to the door and opens it. Her heart sinks at who's standing on her front doorstep. It's the last person she wants to see as she's celebrating her new life with Jess. "Hey Ace." He gives her a smile as if he isn't wrecking her life again.


	11. You Don't Belong Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Uh-oh, let's see how our couple deals with Logan's surprise visit.

Rory stares at the man that she let go of long ago. She had found out too late that he was never good for her. Rory feels like she can't move or speak. Logan gives her that smirk that used to make her knees go weak, but now it makes her feel sick. "Are you going to let me in Ace?" Rory shakes her head. "I don't think that's a good idea Logan." His eyes remain steady on her. "Why not?" Rory hates the situation she's in now. In the last five years, he's never come for a surprise visit to see Abby. He's always kept a comfortable distance and let them live their lives without him. Now, he's back at the worst possible time, just when her life has finally come together. Rory crosses her arms, feeling anger wash over her. "Abby is asleep and I'm kinda in the middle of something. What are you doing here?" He locks eyes with her. "I was in New York on business and thought I'd drop by to see _my_ daughter." It suddenly hits Rory that he's the biological father and not Jess. She had forgotten that detail in the whirlwind of the last two weeks. "Rory, are you coming back up anytime soon, I might have to start…" Her heart clenches at the excitement in his words. This was supposed to be their time and now Logan is stomping on it. Just as he did when Jess had come to take her out for dinner to catch-up. Logan had possessively grabbed her and had insulted Jess because he was jealous. It had left a bitter taste in her mouth at the time and it's doing the same now. Only this time, she's not going to defend his behavior if he steps out of line. "What is he doing here?" Rory's stomach jumps, as she reluctantly turns around and sees Jess standing there glaring at Logan. "I'm here to see my daughter Jack." Jess storms down the last few steps and stops at Rory's side. "It's Jess." Logan gives Jess a scowl. "Ah, right, how's that writing coming these days?" Rory gives Logan a glare and knows that Jess is about to lose his cool. "Leave him alone Logan, his first two novels are on the _New_ _York Times Bestseller List_. It took a lot of hard work, something you know nothing about." Logan shakes his head and looks between them. "Are you two playing house?" Jess takes a step into his face and Rory's heart stops.

The look in his eyes is murderous. "It's none of your damn business what Rory and I are doing. You lost that right when you abandoned them like they were nothing." Rory watches Logan's eyes set ablaze. "You bet your ass I have a right to know what's going on in the house _my_ daughter lives in. I'll be back tomorrow." Logan turns around and begins walking down the front steps. He reaches the bottom and faces Jess. "Just remember Jack, play pretend all you want, but that's not your kid in there." Rory's eyes turn to Jess who's standing rigid in the doorway. The old Jess would have punched first then asked questions later. Rory knows he's no longer that rebellious punk she had fallen in love with, but he probably wishes he still was at this moment. Jess watches Logan's Ferrari speed out of sight she walks over to him. He turns and his eyes are unreadable. "Did you know he was coming?" Rory shakes her head and he sighs. "Keep him away from me tomorrow." She nods and he makes his way upstairs without her. Rory feels the newfound tension between them and it breaks her heart a little. She hopes that they can find a way to fix everything and get rid of Logan, before it's too late.

Jess stares at the ceiling fan going round and round. His blood feels like it's boiling and he can't stop the anger from eating him alive. He's unable to stop thinking about the nerve of that asshole coming over here late at night and treating him like he was gum on the bottom of his shoe. He didn't come this far with Rory, so that blonde asshole could wreck everything. Jess gets up off the bed and opens the door. He walks down the hall and stops in Abby's doorway. She's snoring softly and it quells his anger. Jess makes his way quietly into the room and bends down to give her a kiss on the forehead. He moves to whisper in her ear. "I love you kid." Jess turns to walk out of the room and he knows there's no way in hell that jerk is going to steal _his_ daughter away from him.

Jess returns downstairs and the smell of coffee immediately hits him. He starts towards the kitchen and sees Rory pacing with her coffee in hand. Despite his anger earlier, he can't help but smirk at how cute she is when she's worried. Usually, she talks a million miles a minute and he can barely keep up. Jess walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. Rory stops and turns towards him. Her face is filled with so much uncertainty, that it tears his heart a little. "Let's sit down." She nods and they settle across from each other at the table. Jess watches Rory look everywhere but at him and he grabs her hand. Her eyes lock with his and he sighs. "I'm sorry about earlier, I just hate that guy." Rory nods at his words. "I know." Jess wishes that just once, things between them would go smoothly. Every time they're on the cusp of something, they get blindsided by something else that's out of their control. "I think we need to sit Abby down and clear some things up." Rory nods and squeezes his hand. "I was thinking the same thing. She's bound to be confused when she sees Logan tomorrow." Jess nods and he regrets that they haven't sat Abby down to explain things to her. "We also haven't talked about how you feel suddenly being a full-time dad. I know you've always been in Abby's life, but this is a big change." Jess nods and knows that all of this has come together fast, but nothing has ever felt more right to him in his life.

Being here with Rory in Stars Hollow and hearing Abby call him daddy, is the most natural thing in the world to him. He squeezes her hand. "I know it's a lot to take on, but I want to be here with you and be the dad that Abby deserves. I'm ready for this Rory, you can count on me now." Rory gives him a smile and Jess remembers that day when he had said those words to her. He had thought that he had been ready to commit to her, but he wasn't ready. Now he is and he wants to make sure she knows that he's serious. Jess stands up from the chair and gets down on one knee. He watches her eyes widen, as he takes her hand in his. "Rory Gilmore, I promise to be there for you and Abby no matter what happens tomorrow. I even promise to put up with this crazy town filled with lunatics to be with the both of you. I'm with you and here to stay." He can see the tears in her eyes as they both stand up. "I was expecting a ring, Mariano." Jess can't help but give her a smirk. "Not yet Gilmore, but we're getting there." Rory smiles and he gives her a long kiss. It's all they need for now, but one day when she's not looking, he'll give her that diamond ring she's asking for and finally marry Rory Gilmore.


	12. The Daddy Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Logan is back and poor Abby will have to deal with the mess between her two dads. I'm changing it up and this chapter will also feature Abby's P.O.V.

Rory and Jess sit Abby down the next morning at the kitchen table. Jess makes her a couple of pancakes and extra bacon to soften the blow of Logan's surprise return. As soon as the plate is placed in front of her, she digs right in and Rory takes a seat across from her. Jess follows suit and sits in the empty chair to her right. Rory can't help but wonder how this will impact her daughter. She knows that when she was her age, she had often felt unloved because her dad would drop in for a day and then leave the next. He had this whole other life that she wasn't apart of and knew nothing about. Rory knows that Abby's situation is slightly different because she's aware that her father has other children that see him every day. "Slow down there kid, it's not going anywhere." Rory looks over at Jess who's smirking and she's thankful that he's lightening the mood for their upcoming conversation. Abby looks up at Jess and smiles. "I can't help it, I really love your pancakes daddy." Jess's smirk grows wider, but Rory can't seem to quiet her nerves. "Abby, daddy and I need to talk to you about something." Abby finishes her last pancake and looks between them. "Last night, your…other dad came here and asked if he could spend the day with you." Rory rests her hand on the table and Jess grabs it, knowing that this is hard for her. That this is hard for _all_ of them. She notes the confusion etched on her daughter's face and her heart clenches. "But it isn't Christmas, mommy." Jess squeezes her hand. "Abby, mommy and me aren't going to push you to spend the day with…your dad, but we want you to visit with him for a little while." Rory watches her daughter's eyes lock with Jess's and the sadness there makes her feel like a terrible mother for putting her through this. "Will you be mad at me daddy if I go with my other daddy?" Rory turns to Jess and she can see the emotions swirling within his beautiful eyes. He gets up from the table and picks her up from the chair. Jess sits down and places her on his lap. Abby meets his eyes. "I'd never be mad at you for wanting to spend time with your dad. You know, I had a dad that walked out on me and my mom when I was a baby. I didn't think about him much, until he came here to Stars Hollow wanting to meet me. I know how you're feeling kid and I want you to know that I'm going to be your daddy no matter what you choose today. I love you Abby, never forget that." Rory watches her daughter's frown turn into a wide smile as she wraps her arms around Jess in a hug. He smirks and places a kiss on the top of her head. Rory's heart warms at the sight and she can't help the tears that fall down her cheeks.

Abby gets ready for her day with her other daddy. She doesn't know much about him, other than he always wears a suit and never smiles. Abby doesn't understand why he wants to see her. He's never wanted to be her daddy before and it used to make her cry. Now, she has her daddy and she doesn't feel sad anymore. "Abby, what about this one?" She looks over at her mommy who's holding up her favorite pink dress with flowers. Abby loves flowers and she nods. Her mother gives her a smile as she helps her into the dress. "Mommy, I know daddy used to be Uncle Jess, but what am I sposed' to call my other daddy?" Her mommy stops and locks eyes with her. Abby sees that she's sad, so she reaches out to give her a hug. "You can call him whatever you like sweetie." Abby pulls back from her. "I don't want to make my other daddy mad." Her mommy shakes her head. "You won't Abby, your other daddy is going to have to deal with whatever you call him." Abby nods and grabs her mommy's hand. She's really excited to show her daddy her dress before her other daddy comes.

Abby walks into the living room with her mommy and sees her daddy sitting on the couch with his computer. Her daddy looks up and she twirls around. She turns to him and smiles wide. "Do you like it daddy, it's my favorite dress?" Her daddy nods and gives her a smile. "I know it's your favorite and I think you look beautiful." She feels so excited that her daddy likes her dress and she starts jumping up and down. "Thank you, daddy." The doorbell rings and she watches her mommy go and answer it. "Abby, come here sweetheart." She turns to her daddy sitting on the couch and sees how sad he is. Abby walks over to him and gives him a hug. "Don't worry daddy, I still love you." She pulls back and is happy to see his smile. Abby makes her way over to the door and feels scared to see her other daddy. She looks up and sees that he's wearing a suit. He also has a smile on his face, but it's not the same smile her daddy has when he looks at her. It seems fake to her. "Hi Abby, I have something for you." Her other daddy hands her a big bag of candy and she shakes her head. "I don't like this kind of candy." Her other daddy looks at her mommy. "She choked on peppermint mints like these when she was three and she's been afraid to eat them ever since." She watches her other daddy nod and her mommy kneels next to her. "Say thank you for the candy." Abby turns back to her other daddy. "Thank you." Her mommy invites him in and they go into the living room. Her heart drops when she doesn't see her daddy sitting there. Abby turns to her mommy. "Where's daddy, mommy?" Her mommy's eyes go wide and she turns to her other daddy. He looks mad and she doesn't understand what she did wrong. Her mommy looks at her. "I think… he went to grandpa Luke's." She watches her other daddy turn to her mommy. "Can I talk to you for a second, Ace?" Abby is confused why her other daddy would call her Ace. What is an Ace, anyways?

They walk away and into the kitchen. She uses her super spy skills to hide behind a wall and listen. "Why is my kid calling _him_ daddy?" She hears her mommy sigh. "Logan, Jess has been there for Abby her whole life. We didn't pressure her to call him daddy, she did that herself." Everything is quiet and Abby feels scared about what her other daddy is going to say. "So, Jack decided to play daddy instead of correcting her and you let him? I bet he walks around actually believing he's her real father. Well, I've got news for him, she has half my DNA and she's legally _mine_." Abby feels angry about him talking about her daddy like that. She runs into the kitchen and gives him her meanest look. "Don't talk about my daddy like that, he's the best ever. He loves me more than you do. I don't want to go with you Logan." Abby's never been madder at anyone like she is with Logan. She feels like steam is coming out of her ears as Logan looks at her for a beat. Abby can see that she's made him sad, but she doesn't think he should get a hug. Not after he talked about her daddy like that. Logan walks over to her and kneels. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me to get some ice-cream?" Abby shakes her head and Logan stands-up from his spot. He turns to her mommy. "I'll be back the day after Christmas, goodbye Ace." Her mommy gives him a fake smile. "Goodbye Logan." Abby watches Logan walk out of the kitchen and out of her life until Christmas. She turns to her mommy and smiles. "Can we go see daddy now?" Her mommy nods and gives her a real smile. "Yeah, we can go see daddy." Her mommy grabs her hand and she feels excited, as they go see her _only_ daddy at her grandpa's diner.

Jess sits at the counter, trying and failing to write anything concrete. He runs his hands through his hair and wonders how Abby is doing with Logan. Jess knows that he has deep pockets and is probably trying to buy her love. It drives him crazy that pompous asshole can come in and out of her life anytime he wants to. The door to the diner opens and he can't bring himself to care. "Daddy." Jess's heart lifts and he turns around to see his daughter running towards him. He opens his arms and she runs full speed into them. Jess can't help but smirk at her as she latches onto him. "I thought you'd be out with your dad?" He hates the thought of calling that idiot her dad, but that's what he is, whether he likes it or not. Abby's eyes shine and lock with his. "Logan talked mean about you and I told him he wasn't my daddy." Jess is surprised at how brazen Abby was with Logan and can't help but smirk at that jerk finally getting exactly what he deserved. He looks over at Rory and she smiles. "Don't look at me, your daughter swooped in and put him right in his place." Jess's smirk grows wider as his eyes meet Abby's once more. "Alright kid, let's celebrate by driving grandpa crazy and asking him to make you your favorite chocolate pie." He hears movement in the kitchen and Luke appears behind the counter moments later. "Hi Abby, what can I get you today sweetie?" Jess watches Abby's smile grow wide. "I want my favorite chocolate pie, grandpa." Luke shakes his head. "I am not making you chocolate pie, it's not healthy." Abby giggles at his words. "But it's a special day today." Luke looks over at him, his face showing nothing but confusion. "What's so special about today?" Jess's eyes shift over at Abby and Rory who are both giving him their beautiful smiles. He brings his eyes back over to Luke. "We're officially a family." Luke puts his hand on his shoulder. "You did good kid." Jess gives him a smile. "I'm the lucky one." His uncle gives him a smirk in return before making his way back to the kitchen. Jess's heart warms at the thought of finally being a family, with no more obstacles in their way.


	13. Forever Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Rory, Jess, and Abby leave the diner and spend the rest of the day traipsing around Stars Hollow. For Rory, it's like a dream to finally have _her_ family together. She's never seen Abby so happy and Jess looks like he's walking on air. Rory gets the sense that this feels right, even though it's taken her years to open her eyes to how perfect Jess is. How perfect for her he's _always_ been. She follows behind Jess and Abby, who are walking hand-in-hand towards home. Jess had promised her earlier that he has a surprise for her when they get back to the house and she's been pestering him all day. "Daddy, why won't you tell me the surprise?" She can see Jess smirk and it reminds her once again how much he's changed since his teenage days. He may have grunted and found Abby annoying, but now he loves it. Especially, when it comes to _his_ little girl. "What am I going to do with you?" She watches Abby look up at Jess and smile wide. "Tell me what the surprise is." Jess shakes his head. "Okay, Lorelai the IV, we're almost home." Rory can't help but laugh at how much Gilmore is in her child. She's inherited their stubbornness and persistence to get what they want. Rory loves that Abby's got Jess wrapped around her little finger. They walk across the yard and make their way up the steps. Abby begins to jump up and down in excitement, as Jess unlocks the front door. Rory can't help but smile as the door opens and Abby skips inside. When she reaches the doorway a few moments later, she sees her daughter squealing at Jess, who's walking down the hall holding a big box in his hands with a pink bow on top. It's such a Luke thing to do and she can't help but smile. Rory remembers one birthday when Luke had given her a similar box with a yellow ribbon tied on top. It had been crooked, but she had loved her roller skates inside and it was the thought that counted.

Her heart warms, as Jess places the box in front of Abby and gives her a smirk. "Alright kid, let's see what's inside." Abby gives him a wide smile. "That's a pretty bow daddy." Jess nods as she takes the bow from the top and sets it gently on the ground next to her. As if it's the most precious jewel she's ever received. She pulls the tape off the top and quickly opens it. Rory's eyes meet Jess's and he gives her a smirk. She hears Abby scream and her eyes dart back over to their daughter. Abby gets on her knees and examines each of her books. Rory counts at least twenty of them in the stack on the floor and she can't help but smile. She watches Abby get up from the ground and run towards Jess at full speed. He gathers Abby into his arms and she gives him several mini kisses on his cheek. "Thank you, thank you, daddy." Jess smirks at her. "I've never seen a kid so excited over books, you're definitely your mother's daughter." Rory walks across the room towards them and Abby looks over at her. "Look who's talking, Dodger." He gives her a smile and her heart accelerates. Rory hates that he's leaving tomorrow morning, but she knows he'll be back, they're a family and no one will ever change that now.

After they tuck Abby in for the night, Jess follows Rory to their room. He can't help but feel anticipation coursing through his veins, as he closes the door behind them. Rory stares at him for a moment, before she wraps her arms around his neck and his heart jumps at the contact. "That was smooth earlier, Mariano." He gives her a smirk. "Was it now?" Rory nods and gives him a grin. "What can I say, our daughter is a book nerd." Rory locks eyes with him and he can see the desire within them. "Have I told you lately, how much I love you?" Jess shakes his head. "No, but you know I'm more of an action kind of guy than a talking one." Rory laughs and she leans in for a kiss. The intensity of it reminds him of their first official kiss at the gas station when they were seventeen. He had played it cool back then, waiting for her to come to him. It had taken one look between them and their chemistry had taken care of the rest. It was like they were drawn together, two hearts colliding. Now, as she pulls back to look at him, he feels the same indescribable pull towards her. "Do you need some more convincing?" Jess's pulse rate quickens at her words. Rory's driving him wild and she knows it. "I think I do." She gives him a wide smile and they make their way to the bed. Finally, getting the chance to be together in every sense of the word.

Rory gets up the next morning and finds herself tangled up in the sheets with Jess. His head is adorably resting on her shoulder and his breath is tickling her neck. The feeling of him being this close makes her heart skip a beat. It's moments like these that make her wonder why she had resisted being with him for so long. They could have had this years ago, but then she wouldn't have Abby. Rory figures that everything happened when it was supposed to happen. There's a knock on the door and she's taken out of her daydream. "Mommy, daddy, are you awake?" Reality sets in and she quickly gets out of bed. "We'll be ready in a minute, sweetie." Rory makes her way to the closet and throws on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. "Rory, what's going on?" She turns to see Jess staring at her in confusion and she throws his t-shirt at him from the night before. "I suggest you get some clothes on, before our daughter bursts in." Jess's eyes go wide as he hops out of bed and starts to get dressed. Rory finishes and the door bursts open. She turns to Jess who's just managed to pull his t-shirt over his head. Abby looks between them with a peculiar look on her face. "Why is daddy wearing the same clothes from last night, don't you have more to wear?" Jess exchanges a quick look with her and walks over to Abby with a smirk. He scoops her up into his arms. "You ask too many questions, you know that?" Abby nods at his words. "And you don't answer them, daddy." Jess smirks and carries her out of the room. Rory's grateful that this crisis has been averted for now.

Jess finishes packing up his car after breakfast and turns to Abby and Rory. "I'll be back before you know it." Abby reaches up for him and he picks her up. "I'll miss you daddy, don't forget to call at seven." He gives her a smirk. "I won't, as long as you promise that you'll tell me all about your new books when we talk." Abby giggles at his words. "I will daddy, love you." Abby gives him a hug and he places her down on the ground. Jess's eyes find Rory and he walks over to her. He leans in and gives her a quick kiss. When he pulls back, he sees her smiling. "I love you, Gilmore." Rory nods at his words. "I love you too, now go before we hold you captive here." Jess gives her another quick kiss, before he gets in the car and sets off back towards Philadelphia.


	14. Welcome Home Daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter will see a small time jump and it will be quite a bit longer than the previous chapters. I promise that Jess and Rory will talk about what happened in the last chapter.

Rory and Abby make their way to the diner. Her daughter is extra bubbly today because Jess is finally coming home. The last three weeks have felt like an eternity for her, considering what happened between them before he left. They've tried to talk about it a few times, but every time they do, Abby crashes their conversation. She swears her daughter must have a Jess radar when it comes to their phone calls. Rory makes her way over to the table her mother is sitting and she settles into the chair across from her. "Hey sweets." She gives her mother a smile. "Hi mom." Rory hears giggles fill the air and she turns to see her daughter laughing at Caesar. He's doing his usual Friday morning smiley face special on top of Abby's favorite chocolate chip pancakes. Every week after breakfast, she goes on and on about how funny Caesar's whip cream faces look. "Earth to Rory." Rory turns and meets Lorelai's eyes. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you seem out of it today. I thought you'd be a little more excited about Jess coming back." There's not many things that she's shied away from talking to her mother about, but her sex life with Jess may be pushing it a bit. Her and Jess may be on better terms now, but she knows that this particular conversation would still be awkward. "I am excited, there's just a lot going on right now. Between taking care of Abby and organizing the 'special daddy party' for the last two weeks, I'm beat." Lorelai takes a sip from what she assumes to be her third cup of coffee for the day and locks eyes with her. "You can't fool me hunn, you've got half my D.N.A. I know something else is going on, so spill." Rory should have known that her mother would see right through her, even though what she just said is completely true.

She's beyond exhausted from everything and she's glad the surprise party is happening tonight. "Jess and I haven't exactly talked about what happened between us before he left and it's driving me crazy." Her mother stares at her for a moment and gives her a smile. "So, you two finally did it." Rory averts her eyes away from her mother and focuses on Luke at the cash register. "Was it any good?" Rory brings her eyes back to her mother who's smirking. "I'm not answering that." She's thankful when Luke appears and hands her a pile of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and a steaming cup of coffee. Rory looks up at Luke with a smile. "Thanks." He gives her a smirk. "It looks like you're having a rough day, so I figured you needed this." She nods and wonders when she became so transparent. Rory knows it's bad when Luke can pick up on her frustration, considering he's not the most intuitive when it comes to other's emotions. She takes a big bite of her pancakes. "Just admit it Rory, you soooo loved getting it on with Jess, your blushing proves that." Rory sighs at her mother's words. "Say it a little louder, I don't think they heard you in space." Lorelai lets out a laugh, as she takes another big sip of her coffee. Rory ignores her mother's laughter and looks back over at Abby, who's finished her breakfast and is now skipping over to them. "When can we get ready for daddy's party?" Rory gives her daughter a smile, despite her feeling so out of sorts. "Sorry sweetie, not for another few hours." Abby gives her puppy dog eyes, which no longer work on her, and then turns to her mother. "Grandma, can you help me with my poster for daddy?" Lorelai gives her a smile. "Sure kid, as long as your mom stops being a grump and lets us work on it a little early." Her mother looks over at her and she nods. "Alright, you can work on your poster, but everything else has to wait for at least three more hours, mommy needs a break." Abby nods at her words. "Okay mommy." Her daughter gives her a toothy grin and her heart warms at the sight. Jess better like this party, if he knows what's good for him.

Jess finishes loading the last of his stuff into the trunk. He turns to the small crowd that's gathered in front of Truncheon. He makes his way across the street and stops near the group standing on the sidewalk. Jess sees Mark making his way towards him with a smirk on his face. He slaps him on the arm. "I know you hate all this attention, but I couldn't resist getting everyone together to piss you off one more time." Jess gives him a glare. "What's my going away gift?" Francesca, the cashier that's been working at the store for the last couple of years, passes Mark a large box. He hands it to over. "You got me a box, I'm touched." Mark shakes his head. "Just open it, smartass." He gives Mark a smirk and opens the box. Inside, he sees a novel sitting on the bottom. Jess's eyes widen at the sight and he looks up to meet Mark's eyes. "How did you pull this off?" Mark gives him a shrug. "I may have made a few hundred calls to the printers, so it would be ready in time." Jess picks up the novel and smiles at the front cover. He looks back over at Mark. "Thanks man, I wanted to surprise Rory and Abby with this at Christmas, but now I don't have to wait." Jess reaches out his hand for Mark to shake and he shakes it. "Thanks for trusting me to run the store." Jess nods at his coworker and friend. "Don't make me regret it." Mark gives him a smirk. "I won't, have a safe trip man." Jess says goodbye to a few other coworkers and he walks over to his car. He gets in and puts his newly published novel on the passenger's seat. Jess hopes that Rory and Abby love this surprise because he's poured everything into it, heart and soul.

Rory takes one last look around her house. Everything is decorated and all the food is accounted for. She watches Abby cross the room in a pretty white dress. Her hair is in pigtails, probably her mother's doing, and she's smiling brighter than the sun. Rory can't help but smile at how cute her daughter looks and how excited she is to be seeing her daddy. She decides at this moment, that seeing her daughter like this, makes up for the hell she's had to go through the last two weeks. Suddenly, the front door bursts open and Kirk comes running in. "The Eagle has landed, I repeat, the Eagle has landed." Rory watches Kirk hide and she makes her way out to the front porch. As she watches the headlights turn off, she knows that he'll probably figure something is up. He gets out of the car and opens the door to the backseat. Jess closes the door with his duffle in hand. He turns and locks eyes with her.

The moment is charged and she suddenly wishes there wasn't a large crowd waiting in their house to surprise him. She'd like nothing more than to repeat their last night together, but first they have to get through this and then talk. Jess gives her a smirk, as he climbs the steps to the porch and pulls her towards him. When he leans in to give her a kiss, she momentarily forgets the people inside and gets lost in the kiss. His hands roam everywhere and her heart nearly beats out of her chest. Rory barely registers hearing the door open. Someone clears their throat loudly and they pull back. She turns to see her mother smirking at the two of them and a wave of embarrassment rushes over her. "If you two are done getting reacquainted, we've got a very eager five-year-old waiting to surprise her daddy. I suggest you two move it, before you become the next front page of the Gazette." Lorelai disappears into the house and she turns back to Jess who's smirking. "What are you up to, Gilmore?" She gives him a smile back. "Don't look at me, it was all your daughter's idea to surprise you." He grabs her hand in his and they turn to walk to the door. Jess stops her before she can grab the handle. He puts his mouth so close to her ear, that his warm breath makes her shiver. "I have a surprise for you too later." Rory turns to him in confusion as he gives her a smirk and opens the door.

They walk in together and hear everyone yell surprise in unison. Jess sees Abby running through the crowd and he can't help but smile. She collides into him and he squeezes her in return. When she pulls back, she gives him a wide smile. "Daddy, I made you a poster with grandma, see." She points to a poster that's hanging over the entryway. It says, "Special Daddy Party" in an assortment of colors. He looks down at his daughter and gives her a smirk. "Thanks for making this Abby." She gives him another smile. "You like it daddy?" He gives her a nod and leans down to place a kiss on the top of her head. "I love it Abby, it's the best surprise I've had." Abby gives him another hug and he starts making the rounds. He finds the citizens of Stars Hollow in rare form tonight and he can't help but smirk at Babette teasing Rory about "that hot kiss he laid on her" or Miss Patty pinching his ass after a few too many glasses of wine. After nearly two hours, Jess finally makes his way to Rory, who's holding a sleeping Abby in her arms. Jess takes a seat next to them on the couch. "Hey stranger, I was wondering when you'd make your way back to me." He shakes his head. "I would have made it back sooner, but I got cornered by a drunk Miss Patty." Rory laughs at his words and his heart warms. "Well, I'm glad you made it out alive." His eyes lock with hers. "Barely." She holds his gaze for a beat, before she looks down at Abby. "I'm going to tuck her in, make sure that our guests make it home without getting arrested." Jess nods at her words. "I'll try, but I can't promise anything with these crazy people." Rory stands up with Abby in her arms and gives him a smile. "Don't take too long, I'm expecting that surprise you promised, Mariano." With that, she turns to make her way up the stairs and he can't wipe the smirk off his face. Hopefully, tonight works out the way he's imagined it and the best story he's ever written will be revered forever.

An hour later, Rory is tucked under her covers and waiting for Jess to return. She wonders what surprise he's planning and can hardly wait to find out what it is. The door opens to their room and she looks over at Jess who's got something hidden behind his back. "I was going to show you and Abby this earlier, but I was ambushed." Rory gets up and makes her way over to the end of the bed. "Ambushed?" Jess gives her a smirk. "What do you call it then?" She sits up on her knees and wraps her arms around him. "I call it a sweet surprise party that I organized two weeks for you, mister." Jess holds up his hands in surrender. "Fair enough." Rory can't resist leaning in and giving him a quick kiss. She finally has him alone and she doesn't want to waste any more time. "If I show you this, you have to act surprised tomorrow or our little girl will probably kill me." She nods at his words. "Alright, I didn't expect this to be ready before Christmas, but Mark managed to get it done early." Jess brings the object in front of her and her heart stops when she sees the front cover.

The picture on the front is of her and Jess at the Winter Carnival when they were seventeen. Rory's eyes move to the title "A Story Without End" and she finds that it sums them up perfectly. She begins to feel the tears gathering within her eyes, as she looks back up at the man she loves. "When did you have the time to write this?" He gives her a smirk. "Let's just say, I've been working on this a lot longer than Abby's been alive." Rory gives him a watery smile and she has the urge to put this novel aside and show him how much she loves his surprise. "So, what's the verdict?" She clutches the novel to her chest, as if it's the most precious thing in the world. Rory locks eyes with him. "I love it Jess and I know Abby will love hearing the story inside." He puts his arms around her waist and gives her a smirk. "Abby asked me a few months ago about our story and I decided to finish it. Even when things got rocky between us, I still couldn't bring myself to write an ending. It's been blank for years, but now it's finally finished." Rory's heart skips a beat at his words. "What exactly is the end?" Jess teases her with a quick peck on the lips. "You'll have to wait and find out with Abby tomorrow. Tonight, I want to talk about us." Rory puts the novel aside on the bed. She places her hands on his chest and feels the rhythm of his heart beneath his shirt.

Jess shivers at the contact and locks eyes with her. He hopes he can make it through this conversation long enough without giving in. "Rory, since we haven't managed to talk about it and I know that it's making you crazy." Rory gives him a smile and his heart warms at the sight. "I want you to know that what happened that night was everything. I love you and it was worth the twenty years it took for us to get here." She bunches up his shirt within her fists and his pulse starts racing in response. "I wish we hadn't wasted so much time not doing that, twenty years is an awful long time to resist you, Mariano." He can't help the uptick in his heart at her words. "Well, we better make up for lost time, then." Rory gives him a bright smile, as she pulls him in for an Earth shattering kiss. Their story clearly having no end in sight.


	15. The Best Love Story Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Now that Rory knows about Jess's surprise, let's see how Abby reacts.

Jess wakes up the next morning feeling like everything is finally perfect. It's a rare feeling for him, but he revels in it, as he places a small kiss on the top of Rory's head. She stirs a little and opens her eyes with a smile. "I just had the best dream." Jess gives her a smirk. "Oh yeah, what about?" Rory snuggles into him. "I dreamed that you wrote an entire novel about us, complete with a corny picture from when we were seventeen." Jess shakes his head and brings her closer to him. "Corny, huh?" Rory looks up at him with that dazzling smile of hers. "Are you going soft on me, Mariano?" Jess loves having her in his arms and he hopes they continue bantering like this until their too old to. "Me, never." The room goes silent and Jess watches the ceiling fan whirl around. He's never felt more at peace than at this moment. Jess feels Rory shift next to him and his eyes meet hers. "I know I'm teasing you, but I really love the novel. I can't wait to read it and add it to my fangirl collection." Jess can't help but smile at her words. He remembers when he had shown her the first volume of "The Subsect" and how excited she was to have her own copy to read. Rory had told him that she'd go to every bookstore in the area and put his novel in the front of the store, where the Staff recommendations went. She had also insisted that she'd write an over-the-top placard with how great his novel was, when she hadn't even read it yet. It had dawned on him that day, that she had complete faith in him, even when he hadn't had any in himself. This woman is his driving force, his inspiration. Jess leans in and loses himself in a kiss. She reciprocates and the two find themselves in the same position they were last night. He decides that he could definitely get used to this, every morning for the rest of his life.

By the time they make it down for breakfast, Abby is already sitting at the table with a plate, cup, and fork ready. Rory suddenly feels like a bad mother for making Abby wait to eat because she was too preoccupied with _her_ needs above her daughter's. She quickly makes her way over to the table and can't help but smile at how perturbed Abby is. Her daughter looks up at her with a frown. "Where have you two been?" Rory looks over at Jess, who's now manning the stove for breakfast. He gives her a smirk and she turns back to their daughter. "Daddy and I…were up late last night and we overslept. We're sorry that you had to wait for breakfast, sweetie." Abby looks between them with nothing but suspicion in her little blue eyes. "Were you up late because of the party?" Rory nods at her words. "Yes, the party went on for a really long time." She hears Jess scoff from behind her and she's tempted to slap him, but refrains for their daughter's sake. "Daddy, can you make me eggs with cheese in them and lots of bacon?" He turns to her and gives her a smile. "Sure kid, I'll even throw those tatter tots you love so much in the oven, what do you think?" Abby gives him a bright smile and begins humming to herself. Rory recognizes the tune instantly and shakes her head at the realization that her mother is carrying on the Gilmore tradition by filling her daughter's head with cheesy 80's pop songs.

An hour later, Jess and Rory sit Abby down on the couch in the living room. Jess hands her a book and sits on the coffee table in front of her. Abby's eyes scan over the two familiar faces staring back at her. He can't help but smirk when she looks up and gives him a big smile. "Why are you and mommy on the cover?" Rory settles on the table beside him and gives their daughter a warm smile. "Daddy wrote a book about our relationship." Jess watches her eyes shift to his. "Am I in it?" He can't help but laugh at his daughter's Gilmore esque question. "Yes, you're in it, but not until the very end." Jess watches her eyes light up and his heart lifts at the sight. "Can you read it to me, daddy?" He nods at her response. "I think your mom here would probably get more of a kick out of reading you this story, than I would." Abby turns to her mother. "Can you read it, mommy?" Rory grabs her off the couch and places her on her knees. "You bet we can read it and when we're done, we're going to tell daddy how much we love it because it'll drive him crazy." Abby turns to him in confusion. "Why will it drive you crazy, daddy?" His eyes lock with Rory's and he can see the mischief within them. Jess's eyes return to his daughter. "Because mommy brings out her pompoms anytime daddy writes something, whether it's crap or not." Abby shakes her head and leans over to give him a kiss on his cheek. "It's a good book daddy because you're the best writer ever." Rory picks Abby up and gives him a smile. "From the mouth of babes." Rory takes her upstairs and Jess shakes his head. Now he has two cheerleaders in his corner to cheer him on.

Rory leaves the house to meet her mother for their monthly girl's night. It was a day that they had designated after Abby had been born to keep their tradition alive. They watch a few movies and pig out on as much junk food they can get their hands on. It's just like old times and it helps her clear her mind. Rory pulls into the driveway and quickly gets out. She makes her way to the steps and climbs them. Rory walks to the door and opens it. As soon as she steps through the doorway, she smells the usual array of junk food. Pizza, twizzlers, burgers from Luke's, and other food that's horrible in excess for everyone else but the Gilmores. She walks into the living room and sees her mother placing three boxes of pizza on the coffee table. "Hey mom." Lorelai looks up and gives her a smile. "Hey kid, are you ready for our movie marathon, we've got a lot on tap tonight?" Rory gives her mother a smirk. "Always." She takes a seat on the couch in her usual spot and reaches for a couple pieces of pizza.

Rory can feel her mother's eyes on her and she stops piling the food on her plate. She turns to Lorelai who's giving her a smile. "A little birdy told me that Santa Claus came early and bestowed a gift upon you." Rory's heart stops at her mother's words. "Did Jess tell you?" Lorelai gives her a nod. "He called me about two weeks ago asking if I could send him any pictures I could find of the two of you. Jess wouldn't tell me why he needed it, until I shook it out of him at the party last night. So, how is it? Is it a sappy love letter or just a bunch of teenage angst written on paper?" Rory shifts in her seat. "I don't know because I haven't read it yet." Lorelai shakes her head. "What's the hold up?" Her eyes lock with her mother's. "I'm supposed to wait and read the first chapter with Abby tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I can wait that long." Lorelai grabs two twizzlers off the table and gives her a smile. "Why don't I watch the first movie, while you get lost in your adolescent love story that I never understood to begin with?" Rory feels an excitement fill her heart, as she reaches into her purse by the couch and grabs the novel. She gives her mother a wide smile, as she curls up on the couch and opens to the first page of what she's sure to be the best love story she's ever read.


	16. The Princess and the Punk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter will feature Abby's initial reaction to the novel. Hope you Enjoy!

Rory's eyes scan the first few lines and she closes the novel quickly. The sound makes her mother turn away from the movie and look at her in confusion. "What's wrong, kid?" Rory shakes her head. "A wave of guilt washed over me as soon as my eyes finished the first sentence. I promised Abby I'd read it with her and this is cheating." Lorelai throws a pillow at her and shakes her head. "It's only cheating if you tell her." Rory grabs the novel off the couch and gets to her feet. Her eyes lock with her mother's. "I won't lie to my daughter. I hate to eat and run, but I have a bedtime story to get to." Lorelai gives her a smile. "Suit yourself, just know that your passing up on some sage parenting advice." Rory can't help but laugh at Lorelai's words. "Duly noted, I'll let you know how it goes." Her mother turns her attention back to the movie. "See you later, sweets." She makes her way out of the house and to her car. Rory can't conceal her excitement, as she backs out of the driveway and starts towards home, where her little girl is waiting to hear a very special tale close to her heart.

Jess makes Abby brush her teeth and tucks her into bed for the night. She holds her favorite stuffed dolphin Ron to her chest and gives him those big blue eyes. "When is mommy coming home?" Jess can't help but smirk at his daughter's excitement about hearing their story. He hopes it doesn't suck for both their sakes. "Mommy is at grandma's right now, she'll be home soon." Rory had sent him a quick text a few moments ago, telling him that she was on her way home early. She had asked if he could get Abby ready for bed, so they can start the story as soon as she gets home. Jess had smirked at the text, betting that the novel had been taunting Rory all night. Abby gives him a smile. "Is your story with mommy like a fairytale?" Jess shakes his head. "No, it's nowhere near a fairytale." A frown replaces her bright smile. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Abby swipes a few pieces of hair out of her face and sighs. "I thought all mommies and daddies have fairytale stories." Jess can't help but smirk at his daughter's sense of romanticism.

He wishes that things between him and Rory would have been like the romantic cliched crap that he used to despise in literature before he had met her. "Some mommies and daddies don't have a fairytale relationship, but that doesn't mean they don't love each other." Abby's face lights up at his words. "Do you love mommy this much?" She holds out her tiny arms as far as she can and Jess can't help but smirk at her effort. "Kid, I love mommy more than my arms can stretch and then some." His daughter giggles and it's music to his ears. "Ah, come on, you're supposed to say that you love me so much, that you can only express how much by writing a novel about it." Jess's heart jumps at her words and he turns around to see Rory leaning against the doorway. Her head is resting on the post and he doesn't think she's ever looked more beautiful. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue, Mariano?" Jess gives her a smirk and shakes his head. "You wish, Gilmore." He leans in to give Abby a kiss on the forehead and gets up from the bed. Jess walks over to the doorway, as Rory moves towards the bed. He turns one last time to look at the two people he loves most in the world and then makes his way down the long hallway with a smile on his face.

Rory settles next to her daughter on the bed. She leans her head against the pillows and opens to the dedication. Even though she read it earlier, it still warms her heart:

_To my girls, Rory and Abby, I don't know what I' d do without you. You bring sunshine into my life, whenever I hear you laugh or watch you together from afar. Your presence has saved this lowly punk from living a life of endless wandering and emptiness. I love you both more than I can express on this page, but I hope that this novel about covers it._

Rory can't wipe the smile off her face as her eyes move over to her daughter. Abby looks up at her with tears in her eyes and her heart melts. She wraps her arm around her daughter and brings her closer to her side. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Abby nods and gives her a sad smile. "Daddy really loves us." Rory nods at her words. "You bet he does." Rory swipes Abby's hair to the side and turns to the first passage of the novel:

_This is a story about two souls that were irrevocably intertwined in ways that no one could ever fully understand. The first soul belonged to Jess, a punk that had a crappy childhood and hated the world because of it. When he was seventeen, his entire world changed, when he met the second soul. This soul belonged to Rory, the glorified princess of her bizarre town, who in contrast to Jess, had a good childhood and loved her cookie cutter world. The two came together seamlessly due to their mutual love of literature and level of intellect. They often had long conversations that many other people their age couldn't begin to understand. The only thing standing in their way was Rory's dull small-town boyfriend Dean. He was the thorn in Jess's side from the start, but he was determined to win the heart of the Town Princess, no matter what it took._

Rory smiles to herself and hears Abby giggle next to her. She looks up and meets her daughter's eyes. "Daddy is so silly." Rory stares at Abby in confusion. "Why is he silly?" She grabs the novel from her hands and points to the page. "He told me that your story wasn't a fairytale, but he calls you the 'town princess'." Rory can't help but laugh at her daughter's observation. "Mommy, why doesn't he call himself the prince, if you're the princess?" She squeezes Abby to her. "I don't know Abby, let's go find your daddy and shake it out of him." Abby gives her a big grin and the two make their way downstairs to their favorite punk.


	17. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I plan to weave Jess's novel throughout the next few chapters, but the plot will definitely keep moving.

Jess gets home from Doose's with a couple bags of groceries. Abby and Rory had begged him to go and get some junk food for their "Fairytale Night". Abby had insisted they call it that because she had argued that their story was a Fairytale and he was a Prince. Not a punk. Of course, he had countered by saying that he was a hoodlum who disrespected everyone and resented the world around him. Abby had said that he was still Rory's Prince, even though he was a "bad boy". Jess smirks at the memory, as he walks into the kitchen and places the bags on the table. He stares at all the food in front of him and wonders how anyone could eat this much. Jess has never understood that anomaly surrounding the Gilmore women and probably never will. He starts taking the food out of the bags and puts the perishables away. Jess would hate to suffer the wrath from letting the Rocky Road ice-cream melt. He finishes setting out the rest of the food and makes his way upstairs to see what _his_ girls are up to. As he reaches the top of the stairs, he can hear giggles coming from his and Rory's room. He can't help but smirk, as he walks down the hallway and stops just outside the door. "Why did you run away from daddy?" Jess knows the exact part his daughter's referring to and he's still embarrassed about that whole situation. He should have never popped back into her life like that and dropped the L bomb. "Truthfully, I was afraid of what I felt for your daddy, after he had hurt me." Jess feels an ache in his chest. He'll always regret leaving her the way he did. At the time, he couldn't see another way after Luke kicked him out. His life was out of control and he needed to find direction. "Mommy, did you love daddy then, even when he left you?" A silence fills the room and he finds himself holding his breath. "Yes, I did love your daddy, but…I couldn't trust him. So, I went back to Dean who was safe and that ended up crashing and burning because it wasn't right." He lets out a breath, as his daughter's laugh fills his heart. "You liked Lizzie and Addie's daddy?" Jess smiles at the surprise in Abby's voice, especially since he was equally surprised when he had found out that the local bagboy was Rory's boyfriend.

Guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree, after all. "Hey, it's not that funny, he was my first boyfriend, but it never would have worked. You want to know why?" He can hear his daughter jumping up and down on the bed and he knows that she's eating up all of this drama. "Ever since I met your daddy, he's always had my heart. Even when I wanted him to go away, he still managed to show up and put me back together. He had me at Dodger." His heart lifts in his chest and he decides that it's time to interrupt their story time. Jess opens the cracked door and walks into the room. Both Rory and Abby turn to look at him with their matching blue eyes. "Daddy, you're back." Abby hops off the bed and runs full speed towards him. He opens his arms and picks her up. "Geez, kid, I was only gone for twenty minutes." Jess watches Abby pull back and grin at him. "You're so silly daddy, I really want ice-cream with chocolate on top and sprinkles." He shakes his head. "And here I thought you were glad to see me." She shakes her own little head. "But, you didn't go anywhere." Jess gives her a smirk. "I didn't, but I thought you missed me a little." Abby looks at him in confusion and puts up her pointer finger and thumb. She closes the distance between them, leaving just a little space. "I've missed you this much." He shakes his head and feigns being offended. "Only that much?" Abby opens the space as wide as she can between the two fingers and smiles. "I missed you this much when you went away." He gives her another smirk. "I'll take it." She beams at him, as the three of them make their way downstairs and to the kitchen. Jess watches Abby run to the refrigerator and open it. She pulls out the bottom freezer and grabs the Rocky Road ice-cream. His heart feels happy as she walks over to the table and puts the carton down. Rory places two bowls and two spoons on the table. Her eyes meet his with a mischievous look in them. "Where's my bowl?" She shakes her head and gives him a dazzling smile. "Sorry, Mariano, only people who are participating in 'Fairytale Night' get ice-cream." Jess gives her a smile. "Who made that rule?" Rory exchanges a look with Abby and he shakes his head. "Not this again, I think Abby should be the one to decide since she came up with the night." Abby looks between her parents for a few moments. "Daddy can have some ice-cream, if he pinky promises that he'll listen to the story for one chapter." Jess sighs to himself. The last thing he wants to do is listen to his own work, even if it's _their_ story. He tucks his hands into his pockets, not knowing what else to do. "Fine, but one chapter and that's it." Rory and Abby give him both their best smiles, as they dish out their ice-cream and walk back upstairs to their room.

_Jess stormed Rory's college dorm for one last chance with her. He was so desperate to get her back, that he listened to the advice of some hokey Relationship Self-help book. Of course, Dean had been waiting in the wings when he got there. He was always in the way, in their way. His heart had lifted when she had sent the dull bagboy away and finally chose him to talk to. Jess had laid his heart on the line and she had stomped all over it. He could tell that it was hurting her to turn him down, but all he saw was rejection. Rejection of what he could offer, what they could be, and most importantly, who he was. The last had stung more than anything else. Rory didn't want to be with him because he wasn't good enough for her. Jess vowed that night that he'd become someone and win back the only girl he had ever really loved, even if she was the Town Princess of Stars Hollow._

Jess watches Rory look up from the novel and meet his eyes. Their bloodshot and puffy, signaling that he's done his job as a writer. She looks over at Abby, who's sprawled out in the middle of the bed asleep. "She's been out cold since you changed chapters." Rory nods and wipes the tears out of her eyes. "You got me, Mariano." Jess gets the sudden urge to go to her, so he moves around the bed and does just that. She moves over, careful not to wake up their daughter, and he wraps both arms around her. Rory continues to cry silently and they sit there for several minutes. When she finally pulls back to look at him, he gets lost in the storm that's raging in her eyes. "Hey, why are you crying, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Rory shakes her head and takes a breath. "The opposite actually. God, I'm a mess right now, but I need to get this out." Jess's heart drops at her words and suddenly fear grips him. Is she breaking up with him, before even really giving them a fair shake? He's holding his breath for the second time tonight, as he waits for her to continue. Rory reaches up and runs her hands through his jet-black hair. He revels in her touch as she gives him an uneasy smile. "I don't know how you're going to react to this, but you need to know. I missed my last period and I went to Doose's to get a pregnancy test. I took the test and it looks like we're going to be parents again." Jess's heart stops at her words and he feels an array of emotions rush over him. There's one emotion that's more prominent than the others, complete and utter happiness. It's unexpected, but so was winning back the heart of Rory Gilmore and it's more than he could have ever asked for.


	18. Big Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter will feature both Rory's P.O.V and Abby's P.O.V. about the new baby. I thought it would be fun to write it a little from her perspective again. Also, I'm taking a break from the novel just for this chapter. We'll definitely have more of Jess's novel in the next chapter and beyond.

Rory waits for a reaction from Jess. When she had found out that she was pregnant, she was nervous to tell him. Sure, they're in a committed relationship, but this is a gigantic step. They just got back together and now they're expecting a baby. She knows it's a lot to take in because she had a hard time coming to terms with it herself. So much so, that she took six pregnancy tests before she had accepted the cold hard truth that she was expecting. Rory locks eyes with him and he gives her a smirk. "This is great Rory, we're having another kid." Her heart warms at the excited tone in his voice. Rory grabs his hands in hers. "So, this doesn't totally freak you out?" Jess shakes his head. "A little, but I can't wait to be a dad again." She squeezes his hands. "Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that, Mariano." Jess's smirk widens. "What can I say, Abby's given me the daddy bug." Rory laughs and they bask in the good news for a few moments. She loves that he'll be the one right by her side, just as he was with Abby.

Rory takes a second to envision what their child together would look like. A little boy with black hair and blue eyes like hers or another little girl with her brown hair and his warm brown eyes. The possibilities abound in her mind and it makes her heart soar. "How are we going to break this to Abby?" Jess's voice pulls her away from her thoughts and she turns to face him. "We'll tell her tomorrow in the car on the way to Friday Night Dinner." Jess nods at her words. Every summer, they make a trip to Nantucket to visit her grandma. They have Friday Night Dinner and usually stay for the rest of the weekend. Rory knows that things will be awkward, considering that this will be the first time that Jess will be coming with them. Her grandmother has never been his biggest fan. She usually refers to him as "that hoodlum", but she does know that he's been around more than Logan has for Abby.

Rory hopes that will win him some brownie points with her. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Emily already hates me and we know that our kid won't be able to keep the news to herself?" Rory nods at his words. "I just need to tell my mom before we go tomorrow, so she won't be blindsided. She'd kill me if grandma found out before she does." She watches Jess shake his head and she squeezes his hands to reassure him. "It'll be like pulling off a band-aid, trust me." His eyes lock with hers and he gives her a smirk."Easy for you to say, Gilmore. You're not the hoodlum that got her precious granddaughter pregnant." Rory can't help but laugh at how nervous he is. He's usually so calm, cool, and collected about everything, but this is really getting to him. She puts her hand on the side of his cheek and rubs the stubble there. Rory gives him a wide smile. "Poor baby, but you know this is all your fault, right?" Jess's eyes lock with hers and his smirk widens. "If memory serves, you had a part to play too." Rory rubs her finger along his jawline. "You're the one that showed me that novel, what did you expect to happen, Mariano?" His smirk widens, as he gives her a long and passionate kiss. The two ready for the next chapter of their story to begin.

The next morning, Rory pulls out her cell phone, while Jess loads up the car. She waits a few rings before her mother answers. "Hello, fruit of my loins." Rory decides that it's the perfect segue as any. "Well, the fruit of your loins is expecting another fruit of her loin." There's a pause in the conversation and Rory begins to pace the room. She prays that her mother won't give her a hard time about having the baby so soon after her and Jess got back together. "This is the part where your supposed to say something." Rory hears her mother laugh into the phone. "So, the novel was that good, huh?" Rory can feel herself blush at her mother's words. Of course, she'd make a joke out of such an important piece of news. She sighs into the phone. "Ha-ha, I thought I'd give you a heads up before Abby announces it to everyone tonight." Another pause occurs, as Abby runs past her and out to the car. She watches her daughter stand next to the curb by Jess. Abby's talking animatedly to him, using hand gestures and all. "I'm so happy for you, kid. You finally got the white picket fence life, all you need now is an apron to put on and you're a housewife." Rory can't help but laugh at her mother's words. "I wouldn't go that far, but thanks mom." The two hang up moments later and Rory feels a wave of happiness wash over her. Hopefully, her grandma takes it this well, but she's won't hold her breath.

Abby sits in the backseat of her mommy and daddy's car. She's excited to see her great grandma because she always gives her special presents. One time, she even let her go to a dress store and pick out a pretty pink dress. Abby holds onto her favorite dolphin and watches her daddy strap her into her car seat. He smiles at her and she smiles back. "All set kid." She nods and he gets into the driver's seat. Abby looks out the window while her daddy drives. She sees the trees pass and it makes her think that she's on an adventure with her mommy and daddy. "Abby, daddy and I have something to tell you." Her head whips to the front. Her daddy smiles at her in the rearview mirror. "We have a surprise." Abby can't help but grin. She hopes the surprise is something she really really wants. "We're having a baby." She looks between her mommy and daddy.

Her mommy had told her that the stork dropped her off at her doorstep when she had been a baby. "Is the stork coming?" Her daddy laughs. "Yeah, Abby, the stork will be here in nine months." Abby gasps at his words. "I can't wait that long, daddy." Her mommy turns around and smiles at her. "Your daddy is kidding with you, Abby. The baby won't be brought to our doorstep, they'll be growing inside my stomach." She stares at her mommy in confusion. "So, you lied to me about where babies come from?" Her mommy shakes her head. "I didn't lie to you, you were too little then to understand, but you're a big girl now." Abby loves when people tell her that she's a big girl because it makes her feel special. "Okay, is the baby a boy or a girl?" Her daddy stops the car and turns his head. "We don't know that yet, but you want to know what the best part of all this is?" Abby nods her head up and down. "You're going to be a big sister." Her daddy smirks at her and then he turns to keep driving to her great grandma's. Her mommy squeezes her leg. "So, what do you think about mommy and daddy having a baby?" She's so excited that she's going to have a new brother or sister. Abby can't wait to see them and play with them. She gives her mommy the biggest grin she can. "It's awesome." Her mommy and daddy laugh, as they keep driving. She sure hopes that they get there soon because she can't wait to tell everyone that she's going to be a big sister.


	19. Family Weekend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I loved writing this chapter, it was really fun playing with the dynamics.

Jess pulls into the driveway and parks the car. He's glad that they beat the traffic here, but it was still a very long drive regardless. Abby had gotten restless after the second hour and asked if they could put on a movie for her. When that was over, she had started asking the question he had dreaded to hear. "Are we there yet?". Abby had asked that a few times and then she had conked out in the backseat. He looks now in the rearview mirror and sees that her eyes are wide open. Jess can't help but smirk, as Rory unbuckles their daughter from the seat. She hops out and runs straight to the front door. Abby opens it and goes right in, carrying on the Gilmore tradition of making yourself at home anywhere. Jess gets out of the car and walks over to Rory. She gives him a nervous smile. "Ready for this, Mariano?" He shakes his head, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. "You're lucky I love you, Gilmore." They start walking over to the front door and stop right at the entrance. He turns to face her and she gives him a smile. "You're the lucky one." Rory gives him a quick kiss, before opening the door. Jess smirks at her words and follows her. This is definitely going to be an interesting weekend with the Gilmores.

As soon as they enter, Emily meets them at the door. He's surprised not to see a maid around anywhere, but maybe she's turned over a new leaf. She walks over to Rory first and gives her a big hug. Jess is happy to see that Rory's managed to maintain a relationship with her grandmother, long after the weekly Friday Night Dinners stopped. Emily pulls back from Rory and holds both her arms. "It's so good to see you Rory." Rory gives her a bright smile. "It's good to see you too, grandma." Emily gives her a tight smile and finally turns to look at him. Jess feels like he's that seventeen-year-old punk again under her gaze. "Hello, Jess, isn't it?" He nods his head. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Gilmore." Emily gives him an obligatory smile. "Let's go see what everyone else is up to in the backyard." Rory gives him a small smile, as her grandmother whisks her away.

Jess shakes his head and follows behind them. He steps out into the backyard and is met with giggles. Jess scans the area and spots Abby holding Lorelai's hand, as they run around the yard. He smiles at the scene, happy that at least his daughter is having fun. "Jess." He turns to see Luke coming towards him and his smile widens. "Hey Luke." His uncle comes to stand next to him and hands him a beer. "Thanks." They watch Rory join in the fun and all three of the Gilmores holding hands and running around the yard. "We're lucky guys." Jess nods at his words and his smile widens. "There's nothing like a Gilmore girl." Luke pats him on the shoulder. "No, there isn't." The two men continue to watch the three crazy girls they love most in the world.

At dinner, Jess sits between Abby and Rory at the table. He's thankful that he has some sort of buffer between him and Emily. Since he got here, she hasn't so much as said two words to him. Jess already knows that she doesn't approve of him, he just hadn't expected her to be so cold. "Are you still pursuing a career as a published author?" He looks over at Emily. "I've written three volumes of "The Subsect" series." She takes a sip of water and nods. "Excellent, I'd like to read some of your work, where can I find it?" Jess stares at Emily, trying to get a read on her. She seems sincere about wanting to give his work a chance. "I can have my store send you a few copies." She gives him that obligatory smile again and puts down her fork. "That would be wonderful, I look forward to reading them." Jess nods and prays that this is all the attention he gets from her tonight. It's funny, that just a few minutes ago, he had actually wanted her to talk to him. Now, he wishes she'd give anyone else her attention.

Jess unconsciously rests his hand on his knee and Rory grabs it. He turns to her and she gives him a small apologetic smile. "Are you two together?" Jess's head whips around to face the oldest Gilmore. "Yes, we are, grandma." There's a tension in the air, until Abby stands up on her chair across the table. "Grandma, grandpa, and great grandma, mommy and daddy are having a baby." The room is quiet and Jess feels Rory's grip on his hand tighten. He watches the surprise cross Emily's features and then her eyes fall on him. "Congratulations to both of you, this gives me a reason to bring out my special wine." Emily gets up from the table and makes her way out of the room to get the wine. Rory looks across at her mother. "What just happened?" Lorelai shakes her head. "Maybe mom has finally cracked." Rory shakes her head. "That's not helping." Lorelai takes a sip of her water and smiles. "Well kid, that's all I've got." Emily returns to the room and calls out to her maid to bring out the wine glasses. Everyone's quiet again around the table and Jess is feeling completely out of his element. "Why isn't anyone celebrating?" His eyes travel over to Emily. "Well, we were expecting you to freak out over me being with Jess, let alone, having his baby." She looks around the table. "Is that what everyone thinks?" The whole table nods their head, except Abby.

She grabs onto Emily's hand and grins. "I don't think that great grandma. You're happy that mommy and daddy are having a baby and that I'm going to be a big sister." Her eyes lock with the youngest Gilmore and a rare authentic smile appears. She turns to the rest of the table. "I am happy for you. I'm not the judgmental woman I used to be and I don't hold grudges anymore towards people who have proven that they've changed. I'd be a hypocrite if I did." Jess can't help but give her a smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Gilmore." She shakes her head. "I insist you call me Emily, we're family now." He nods, not knowing what else to say. The maid appears with a few glasses and desert for everyone. Jess is relieved that this evening has gone a whole lot different than he had imagined it would and he's glad that he's finally won the approval of the oldest Gilmore.

Rory gets into bed with Abby and opens Jess's novel. She frowns at the part they're at. It hadn't been one of her finest moments and she still regrets the way she had handled it. "Is there room for one more?" Rory looks up and sees her mother standing in the doorway. "Come sit next to me, grandma." Lorelai smiles and makes her way over to the bed. She plops down next to Abby. "Is everyone ready." Both her daughter and mother nod in unison and she can't help but smile:

_Jess didn't get to see Rory again for another two years. The time between had set him hard at work to try and become the man that Rory had wanted and deserved. So, he sat down and wrote an entire novel. Jess never thought it was much, but everyone else did. A small amount was published and he found himself begging for bookstores to carry it. That ultimately led him to see Rory again, who was staying with her grandparents at the time. He had been surprised to hear from his uncle that her and Lorelai had gotten into some sort of fight and that's why she had decided to move in with her grandparents. It was strange for him to hear that there was anything that could break the Gilmore bond._

Rory stops there and feels the tears brimming in her eyes. She looks over at her mother, who also has tears in her eyes. She's clearly also remembering that terrible time apart and how painful it had been. Rory had spent most of that time convincing herself that she was in the right for dropping out and her mother was in the wrong. Looking back, it had been childish and misguided. "I'm sorry mom for how I acted then." Her mother reaches across the bed and squeezes her leg. "I know." Rory can feel Abby's eyes moving back and forth between them. "Why did you fight with grandma?" Her eyes meet her daughter's. "Mommy was a little lost back then. I had dropped out of school and grandma hadn't been happy." She watches Abby turn to face Lorelai. "But, you and mommy are okay now?" Her mother grabs Abby and brings her closer to her side. "You bet, kid." Abby smiles wide and turns her eyes back to her. Rory takes that as a sign for her to continue the story:

_Jess not only wanted to show Rory what he'd accomplished, but he had wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on between the Gilmore women. So, he showed up at her grandparents' house and surprised her in the driveway. He could immediately feel the tension between them and he had tried to ease it a little by joking with her. Jess learned quick, that things between them were different and he wasn't sure if they could ever get back to a good place. Rory had led him to her room upstairs and he had shown her his novel. He'd never forget the look of pure elation she had when she had seen his name written on the front. Rory had looked up and gone was the entitled woman he had just met. Staring back at him was the happy and full of life seventeen-year-old that he had fallen deeply in love with. The smile on her face could have lit up the sun and he finally thought that he was enough of a man for her. That he was worthy._

Rory stops, not able to continue. She remembers how much pride she saw in Jess's eyes that night. He had thanked her for encouraging him to do something with his life and all she could do was say thanks. Rory feels something tug on her shirt sleeve and she turns to see her daughter look at her in confusion. "What's wrong mommy?" Rory scoops her up in her arms and Abby giggles. "Nothing, let's go see what daddy and grandpa are up to in the backyard." She nods at her words and hops out of bed. Abby runs down the hallway and Rory remains quiet, continuing to reflect over the words Jess had written. Lorelai moves across the bed and holds her close. "That man really loves you." Rory nods with a smile. "Even though, Jess and I have put our past behind us, it still hurts to read about it." Her mother squeezes her. "Look at it this way, you know how it ends already because you're living it right now." Rory nods at her mother's words and is thankful that all the hard times with Jess are over and they're about to expand their family.


	20. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". For the next three chapters, I've decided to write each chapter with a three-month time jump. This is a way to keep the plot moving, while also progressing Rory's pregnancy.

Jess rests his hand on Rory's small bump. She's only three months, but that kid in there is definitely got a mind of its own. Every once in a while, he feels a flutter. It's faint, but he can feel the movement. Jess rubs his hand gently across the surface of her stomach and can't help but smirk. He still can't believe that it's his kid in there. "Jess." He looks up at her and his smirk deepens. "You know, she's not going anywhere for the next six months." Jess shakes his head, thinking about the little argument they've been having for the last two months, about the sex of the baby. She says it's going to be a girl because it's a Gilmore and he says that it'll be a boy to make things even in the house. Jess can't imagine living with three girls under the same roof. Especially, since he already has it rough with just two. "Considering how rambunctious this kid seems to be, I have a feeling that he'll be kicking his way out early." Rory puts down the book on pregnancy she's reading and gives him a grin. "I don't think so, Mariano." Jess places a kiss on Rory's stomach and settles against the pillows behind him. "Why not?" She gives him her best withering stare and he can't help but smile. "We've been over this a thousand times, our baby will be a girl and you'll just have to deal with it." Jess moves over and snuggles up against her. Rory locks eyes with him. "Picture this, a little boy running around with a baseball hat and uniform." He watches Rory raise an eyebrow. "Your going to teach him how to play?" Jess shakes his head. "I've never been much on sports, I'd have Luke teach him." Rory gives him a grin and the two bask in the idea of being parents again, whether it's a boy or a girl, together against the world.

Rory drives up to the baby store in New Haven. Unfortunately, there's no such store in Stars Hollow and she's had to go out of her way to get here today. Between taking care of Abby and trying to get ready for the new baby, she's beat. Rory looks in the rearview and sees Abby trying to unbuckle herself to get out of her seat. She sighs, as she gets out and opens the back door. Rory reaches across the seat and unbuckles Abby's seat belts. She gives her a grin, before jumping out of the car. Rory reaches for her hand and the two walk into the store. "Where's daddy?" Rory gives her a smile. "He should be here somewhere, remember he had to go check on things in Philadelphia earlier today?" Abby nods at her words, as they maneuver through the aisles and spot Jess looking at baby strollers.

She can't help but smile at seeing Jess Mariano, former bad boy of Stars Hollow, perusing the stroller collection. "Daddy." He turns and Abby rushes over to him. Jess gives her a hug and smirks. "Hey kid." She grabs Jess's hand and Rory makes her way over to them. "Hey there, Gilmore." She gives him a smile and the three start to look around the section. Rory watches Jess point out which stroller he likes and listens to his long explanation of how a double stroller would allow the baby to have more room. Abby then drags them over to the baby carriers, her face lighting up, as her eyes scan the selection. "Can I pick a basket for the baby?" Jess gives her a look over Abby's head and she gives him a nod back. "You can pick one, but me and daddy have the last say." Their daughter turns to them minutes later, with the biggest grin she's ever seen, and points to one on the very top shelf. Jess shakes his head and Rory smiles at how predictably adorable Abby can be. "Daddy, mommy, that's the one." Of course, the carrier is bright pink and has sparkles everywhere. It looks like it came straight out of the princess collection.

She knows exactly what he's thinking because it's the same thing she's thinking. If they allow her to pick this particular carrier, they'll have to buy a second one in the future if they have a boy. Rory exchanges another look with Jess, she can see that he's not liking this carrier idea either. Rory's just about to nix the idea, when Abby walks over to the cart and takes a stuffed bear out of it. She makes her way back over to the carrier and places the bear inside. "Here you go, baby." The moment warms her heart and she can't seem to bring herself to tell Abby no. Rory looks over at Jess who seems to be on the same page. She turns to her daddy and grins. "Can you help me with the basket, daddy?" Jess sighs, but follows their daughter's command and the three make it to the check-out counter.

On the last day of the month, Jess drives Rory to the OBGYN in New Haven. He's hoping the doctor will be able to tell them the sex of their baby today and they don't have to wait another few weeks to find out. Abby's about to drive them crazy about what their having, she insists it's a girl like Rory, so it's two Gilmores against one Mariano. Jess turns into the parking lot and parks their car. He gets out and joins Rory on the other side of the car. Jess locks eyes with her. "We should make a bet." He wraps his arm around her and they start walking towards the OBGYN entrance. "What do you have in mind, Gilmore?" She pauses for a moment, probably thinking about all the ways she could torture him if he loses. "Winner gets to name the baby, while the loser has to change all of the baby's dirty diapers for the first month." Jess shakes his head in disgust, remembering how changing Abby's diaper when he visited made him sick to his stomach. He doesn't mind taking care of the baby in general, but he doesn't do diapers. Rory knows this, so she's making him pay if he loses. "That's not fair." She stops right as they reach the automatic sliding doors to enter. "What part isn't fair?" Jess gives her a glare. "The part where I have to change diapers for a month. I think it's only fair to make you pay by doing something you hate." Rory shakes her head. "What are you thinking, Mariano?" He shakes his head. "If I win, you have to read our kid nursery rhymes every night for the next month." Jess knows that Rory hates nursery rhymes. She once told him that they used to give her nightmares as a kid because they creeped her out. Apparently, Lorelai had always chanted them in a voice that made Rory shiver and that's why she never read them to Abby when she was younger.

She gives him another one of her withering stares and he gives her a smirk in return. "Remember, it's only fair, Gilmore." Rory sighs and they walk into the doctor's office to check-in for their appointment. Jess follows Rory to the waiting area and sits down next to her. The two are quiet, with Jess holding her right hand in his own. They wait for about fifteen minutes, before their called back. Jess can't quite pin down what he's feeling right now. Even though he's been through this with Abby, it's different this time because him and Rory are in a very different place now. Their committed to each other and they're now a family. He'd be lying, if he said that a small part of him doesn't worry that he's going to screw up both his kids somehow down the line. Even though, everyone has assured him he's a good father, it's still sometimes hard for him to believe that the punk from New York could raise a kid and not mess them up. They reach the examination room and he follows Rory inside. She sits on the table and he takes a seat in the corner of the room. The doctor comes in minutes later and gives them both a warm smile. "How are you feeling Rory?" She grins back at the doctor. "I'm doing as good as can be for a pregnant woman." Dr. Kale nods and looks over the chart. Her eyes raise and she glances between them. "Are we ready to find out what you're having?" Jess nods and joins Rory at the examining table. He grabs her hand, as she lays back. Rory pulls her shirt up and Dr. Kale walks over to the ultrasound machine. She grabs the special gel and rubs it over Rory's stomach.

Dr. Kale then takes the monitor and places it in the middle of her stomach. She moves it around and Jess holds his breath, praying that the baby is healthy. It takes her a few more moments, but the sound of a heartbeat echoes in his ears. "Your baby has a strong heart." Jess watches her move the monitor again and his heart stops. "It looks like there's another heartbeat and it's also very healthy. Congratulations, Jess ad Rory, you're having twins." Jess feels like someone just told him that Santa Claus is real because as far as he's concerned, having twins is beyond logic. Yet, here they are, having twins and beating the odds again. A warmth spreads inside of his chest and his eyes lock with Rory's. She has tears in them and he can't help but smirk at his luck in life. He squeezes her hand and she gives him a tearful smile. "The first heartbeat is a boy and the second appears to be a girl. I'll have the sonograms printed out for you. Congratulations again." Dr. Kale gives them a smile and places the monitor back in its place. She walks out of the room and Jess leans over to kiss Rory. Rory's surprised at first, but she eagerly reciprocates for a few moments. He can't explain the joy flowing through his veins at the thought of having two babies join their family. When he finally pulls back, Rory gives him a grin. "I guess no one wins the bet." Jess gives her a smirk and squeezes her hand again. "I think we've both won the jackpot, two new babies and Abby all in one house. I say we're pretty lucky." Rory gives him a quick kiss. "That's one thing we can agree on, Mariano." They stare at the screen with the image of the two miracles they've created together and Jess knows that the future is looking a whole lot brighter for the Gilmore/Mariano clan.


	21. A Christmas Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I bet you didn't see twins in Literati's future. I figured it would be fun to have one of each, so Jess can get a son. I've always wondered what kind of dad he'd be to a son. This is another very long chapter, but a lot happens, so I felt it was necessary. I'm having a blast writing this, thanks for reading.

Rory spends Christmas Eve wrapping Abby's gifts with Jess. With the babies' due in three months and getting the nursery ready, there's hardly been time to shop, let alone wrap the gifts. Jess sits beside her on the couch and the two of them knock out their wrapping at about three A.M. She's thankful for having a partner like him in her life. Rory could only imagine what it would have been like if she was with Logan. She's sure that she'd be doing everything on her own, including getting the nursery ready. Rory's confident that he would have been a flyby parent, whether she was with him or not. "Ready for bed, Gilmore?" Rory nods and Jess helps her up. He wraps his arm around her and they make their way upstairs to their room. "Our daughter will be up soon." They reach their room and both collapse on the bed. It seems like every month she gets more and more exhausted. Before getting pregnant with Abby, she had no idea that there were levels of exhaustion. Rory turns to Jess. "We should make another bet." He gives her a smirk and her heart warms. "Game on, Gilmore." She gives him a grin. "I bet Abby will wake up at 5 A.M. and come crashing into our room." Jess shakes his head. "I think you're off there, I give our kid a half an hour before she comes." Rory stares at him in disbelief, knowing there's no way that Abby would get up that early. "Same stakes as before?" Jess's smirk widens. "I hope you're brushing up on your nursery rhymes." Rory rolls back over and her eyes instantly close. She's confident that she'll win this bet and he'll be stuck changing those dirty diapers for a month.

Rory wakes up to the whole bed moving. She opens her eyes and sees Abby standing between her and Jess. Rory turns over to her alarm clock and sees that it's 3:45, she's only been asleep for about a half an hour. "Mommy, daddy, it's Christmas." Her eyes move over to Jess, who's giving her a knowing smile. "Alright kid, let's go to the stairway and check out your stocking, we'll let mommy rest for a few minutes." Abby looks at her with concern in her eyes. "Are you and the babies okay, mommy?" Rory manages a small smile. "We're fine sweetie, now go with daddy and see what Santa put in your stocking." She jumps off the bed and runs down the hall. Jess turns to her with a smirk. "Better luck next time." Rory picks up his pillow and throws it at his head. "Shut up, Mariano." Jess's smirk widens, as he turns to leave. Maybe she'll manage to rest about fifteen minutes more, if she's lucky.

Jess follows Abby to the stairs and can't contain his smile. She rushes towards the stocking Lorelai made her for her first Christmas. He remembers the megawatt smile that crossed Abby's face, when Lorelai gave her that stocking. Jess had thought it looked gaudy and very Lorelai, but Abby had loved it. "Daddy, look what I got." She holds up a couple of bookmarks and his smile widens. "It looks like Santa knows you love to read." Abby nods at his words. "Silly, daddy, I wrote him a letter, remember?" Jess takes a few steps down, stopping on the step above her. "Ah, I must have forgot. I guess that means, you'll get everything you asked for." Abby gives him a wide grin and finishes looking through the stocking. He hopes Rory is up soon because he's not sure that he'll be able to contain Abby. "Daddy, can I have a piece of candy, pretty please?" She's giving him those puppy dog eyes and he knows he's going to give in. "One piece, but don't tell mommy." Jess watches Abby take out a lollipop. "I heard that." He turns and sees the mother of his children walking down the stairs towards them. Since she's been pregnant, he loves that she seems to have this glow to her. "Mommy, can I go open presents now?" Rory nods and they watch Abby run down the rest of the stairs and over to the Christmas tree by the fireplace. Jess follows Rory down the last few stairs and they make their way to the couch. He can't help but smile at how quickly Abby is ripping through the presents. "Slow down there, kid, none of it is going anywhere." His daughter ignores him and continues to tear her way through the presents.

Of course, she's most psyched about her favorite book series that hasn't even hit the stores yet. He was able to pull some strings at Truncheon and get them early. "Daddy, mommy, look at the books, Santa got me my favorite." Jess gives her a smirk. "I guess Santa has some connections, huh?" Abby gives him a smile. "No, it's the magic letter I wrote to Santa." Jess nods at her words and he turns to Rory who's smiling at the scene. He grabs her hand that's resting on the couch and she turns to him. Her smile has now turned into a frown. "I didn't have time to get you anything." Jess squeezes her hand, it's typical of Rory to feel bad about something like this. "Hey, I don't need anything, you've already given me a daughter and two twins to boot." Jess places his hand over Rory's stomach and her smile returns. "I love you, Mariano." He puts his hand on the side of her cheek. "I love you too, Gilmore. We should probably get ready for next year because it's going to be a circus with three kids." Rory gives him an angelic laugh. "There's no one I'd rather brave that circus with than you." He leans in and gives her a long kiss. "Mommy, this one is for you, it says it's from daddy." He watches Rory pull back and can't hide the smile crossing over his face. She turns to him in confusion, but walks over to the tree where Abby hands her the present. Jess watches her open it slowly and the look on her face speaks volumes. He gets up from the couch and makes his way over to _his_ two girls standing by the tree. Jess has thought about this moment, since he first laid eyes on her and now it's becoming a reality. He gets down on one knee and grabs the box from her hand. Rory's eyes are wide, but he can see the excitement within them. He hopes he doesn't screw this up. Jess grabs her hand and holds the box up. "I've never wanted to settle anywhere, let alone settle down, but you changed all that. You're the only woman I want this with and you always will be. So, Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?" Jess can see the tears in her eyes and his heart warms at the sight. "Yes." He takes the ring out and slides it on her finger. She gives him a wide smile and he gets to his feet. Jess pulls her in for a kiss and he can hear Abby cheering in the background. He decides that this moment is perfect, just like his soon-to-be wife in front of him, and he intends on cherishing it and her forever.

After presents, her and Jess make their way to the kitchen, leaving Abby eagerly reading the first book of her favorite series. She looks at the time and sees that it's already after five. Her mother had promised Abby that she'd be here at six and Luke's supposed to make breakfast. Rory walks over to the table to sit down, feeling not just physically exhausted, but emotionally exhausted. She places her left hand on the table and her eyes zero in on the simple diamond for the thousandth time this morning. Rory can hardly believe that Jess actually proposed to her. Even more impressive, he was able to keep the ring a secret from her. She couldn't have picked out a better ring and she's once again thankful that Jess knows her so well. "Is it okay?" Rory can hear the insecurity in his voice and it grips her heart. Her eyes connect with his. "I love it, it's perfect." Jess gives her that sexy smirk she loves and her heart does a somersault. "Mommy, daddy, grandma and grandpa are here early." Jess shakes his head. "I bet your mom wants to kill Luke." He helps her get up from the chair and she walks to the front door. Abby beats her there and has already opened the door. She's jumping up and down. "Grandma, grandpa, you're here." Rory looks over at her mother, who looks half-dead. "Grandma needs coffee." Her mother ambles in and Luke follows, carrying a box with some of the ingredients he'll need to make breakfast. He looks at her with a smile. "I had to bribe your mom to get up early with my special blend from the diner. I usually don't bring the stuff home, but I made an exception for the kid." Rory nods at his words. "Thanks Luke." He gives her a rare smile and walks into the kitchen. "Grandma, guess what, daddy and mommy are getting married." Rory quickly follows Jess into the kitchen and sees her mother suddenly wide awake at the table. She looks over at Jess. "So, you chose Christmas, only second to Valentine's day, as the most cliched holiday, to propose to my daughter?" Jess shoves his hands into his pockets and she knows that he's nervous.

He looks over at Lorelai. "It felt like the right time to do it." Lorelai smiles and looks between the two of them. "Wow, three kids and a wedding, it must be love." Her mother gets up from the table and hugs her tightly. When she pulls back, she grabs her left hand. "Now, let mommy see that ring." Lorelai brings her hand up and turns to Jess. "I'm glad you picked this one." Rory looks at her mother. "You were in on this?" Lorelai turns her head and smiles. "He had to ask my permission, so I volunteered my input." Jess takes a step forward. "By volunteer, she means she forced me to take her." Lorelai turns to Jess and gives him a glare. "Watch it punk, I could totally undo my blessing." Rory shakes her head. "It's too late for that." Lorelai gives her a wide smile and Luke begins to cook the food. A little later, the five enjoy Christmas Morning breakfast as a family and Rory couldn't be happier. This is definitely turning out to be one hell of a Christmas and it may be her new favorite holiday, Thanksgiving be damned.

A couple hours later, everyone sits on the couch, eating Luke's traditional Santa burgers and watching a classic Christmas movie. Abby is sitting on Jess's lap to her right and everything seems just about right. The doorbell rings and her mother gets up. "I'll get it, wouldn't want you killing yourself moving to the door." Rory gives her a feign glare. "Ha-ha, laugh at your pregnant daughter's expense." Lorelai laughs all the way to the door and moments later, in walks Logan and his entire family. Rory's heart drops to her stomach at the sight and she knows that this turn of events, may wreck the rest of their perfect Christmas. She prays this won't be the case, but anytime Logan is involved, you can guarantee things will turn out to be a disaster.

Jess feels like he's been punched in the gut. What is with this guy? First, he came to the house unannounced and they kicked his ass out, now he comes with the rest of his family, to what, rub it in Abby's face? He's about had it with this guy and his games. "We were spending Christmas with my parents and I thought I'd come by early and give you your gifts, Abby." Abby, still sitting on his lap, turns to him. He can see it in her eyes, she's asking permission and it feels like a knife is twisting in his heart. "It's okay." Jess tries to smile convincingly, but he knows that she can see right through it, just like her mother. Abby gives him a hesitant nod and jumps off his lap. She walks slowly over to Logan and he bends down to hand her the stack of gifts he's brought. Abby looks over at the bastard. "Thank you, Logan." He frowns, clearly pissed that she's still calling him Logan, but he gives her a nod. She sets out opening the gifts one by one, each more expensive than the next. Jess hates that he's standing there with his perfect family and making her go through this. It's not fair and it makes his blood boil. One wrong move and he won't hesitate to throw that idiot out on his ass again. Jess watches Abby finish and look back over at Logan. "I really like all my new stuff." He can tell from her tone that she absolutely hates everything that Logan has given her. From the dolls, to the elegant dresses, none of it impresses his little girl. Logan gives her a smile. "I'm glad you like it." He stands up next to his wife Odette. His four brats stare at his little girl like she's some kind of anomaly.

Jess and Rory get up off the couch at the same time, both having seen enough of this, and then Abby turns to them and puts her hand up. They stop and she turns back to the four children. Abby puts her tiny hand out. "Hi, I'm Abby Gilmore." The four children exchange uneasy looks and then the oldest boy steps forward. He sticks out his hand to shake hers. "Hi, I'm Nick Huntzburger." The next child, a blonde girl, steps forward. "My name is Elizabeth." Nick points to the smaller kids. "That's my brother Charlie and my sister Lori, they're too small to talk." Abby nods at his words and the silence resumes. After a few moments, he watches his daughter take a brave step forward. "Do you want to play with me for a while?" Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Odette roll her eyes and then place her hand on Charlie's shoulder. Her eyes meet Abby's. "We have to get going, but maybe Logan can set up a time for all of you to play." Jess is usually good at reading people and this woman is as transparent as glass. She has no intention letting her children play with Abby and even his daughter knows it. Abby's uneasy smile turns into a frown. "Okay, Happy Christmas." Logan bends down and gives her a brief hug. "Call me anytime and we'll set up that playdate." Abby nods at his empty words and the Huntzburger clan leaves. Abby turns around and they can see the tears starting in her eyes. He walks over to pick her up and Rory rubs her back. The two exchange a look, as their daughter cries over the father that continues to disappoint her. Jess wishes he could take the pain away, but this is something that's out of his control. All he can do now is stand here and hold her tight, letting her know, he'll always be there for her, that he'll always be _her_ dad.


	22. The Mariano Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I don't know if I'll be able to top the last chapter, but I think everyone will enjoy this one as well.

Rory sits next to Abby on the bed. She's struggling through yet another night of nursery rhymes. Ever since she lost the bet, Abby has fallen in love with nursery rhymes and insists she read them every night before bed. Of course, Jess had given Abby a whole collection from Truncheon and made sure to torture her with them. Rory finishes one of the rhymes, feeling her skin crawl as usual, and looks down at her sleeping daughter. She's thankful that she doesn't have to read anymore and gently puts the book down on the bedside table. Rory starts to get up slowly, when she feels something wet between her legs. She looks down on the ground below her and sees a wet spot forming on the carpet. Her heart hammers within her chest, as she waddles out of the room and into the hall. Rory moves across slowly and pounds on their bedroom door, praying that Jess isn't asleep yet. "Jess, it's time." The door flings open at warp speed and he looks like a nervous wreck. "Great timing, Gilmore. I'll call your mom and get her over here to watch Abby." Jess makes his way quickly over to their closet and throws on a t-shirt and jeans. He also grabs the bag he made fun of her for packing a few months ago and then reaches for his cell phone on the dresser. Jess hits a number and she can't help but notice how fidgety he is. She's not used to seeing him so jittery. "The babies are coming, we're heading to the hospital, come quick." He slings the bag over one of his shoulders and rushes back to her side.

Jess puts his arm around her to support her and they slowly make their way down the staircase. She's feeling like she's about ready to pop and she wishes that they weren't coming tonight. Abby's birthday just so happens to be in three days and they weren't actually due for another two weeks. Damn Jess for knocking her up so close to their daughter's birthday. "You know, I hate you right now." Rory watches him smirk, as they reach the bottom of the stairs. "And I love you, now let's bring our kids into the world." He slowly leads her to the door and Rory feels like she's about to die. It's worse than the pain she felt with Abby, but she guesses it's because she has two babies inside of her this time. Jess opens the door and her mom runs up the stairs at full speed. She doesn't think she's ever seen her mother run that fast. Lorelai reaches them, in a robe no less, and she can't help but smile through the pain of the next contraction. "I ran through every red light to get here and I think I almost ran over Kirk walking across the street. Now, go kid." Her mother gives her a quick hug and rushes past her. Jess leads her to the car and the two set off towards the hospital, their new chapter about to begin.

Jess quickly gets her to the check-in desk and catches the attention of the nurse. She looks up at him from behind the computer. "Can I help you?" Jess nods at her words. "My fiancé is having twins and the babies are coming now." The woman signals to another nurse to grab a wheelchair and she looks back at him. "Name?" The nurse comes up behind her and she settles her into the wheelchair. "Rory Gilmore." Rory watches Jess scramble to get all the information together before she's wheeled down to the Pediatrics wing. She feels another contraction and tries to breathe through it. The pain makes her almost double over from how intense it is, she's thankful when a warm hand reaches out and grabs hers. The pain passes moments later and she looks up to see Jess staring down at her with concern in his eyes. Rory squeezes his hand back to let him know that she's okay for now, as she's wheeled into the room she's going to give birth in. He only let's go of her hand, when the nurses pull her away to get her into a hospital gown.

They settle her into the bed and her eyes catch his across the room. "We just paged Dr. Kale, she should be here shortly." Rory nods and the nurses leave the room. Her eyes fall back on him and he gives her a smirk. Jess makes his way over to her bed. "Do you still hate me?" Rory feels another contraction coming on and anger rises up inside of her. "Yes, you did this to me." Jess smiles and places his hand on her forehead, pushing back her matted hair from her face. "Last time I checked, it takes two, Gilmore." The contraction ends and she gives him her best withering stare. The door opens and her eyes move away from Jess. Dr. Kale comes bustling in with a smile on her face. "Alright, let's deliver your twins safely." The nurses help her get ready for the delivery and Jess grabs her hand again. He's smirking at her and her heart warms. Jess looks so happy and she can't believe that they're about to bring two new babies into the world. "What are you looking at, Mariano?" He shakes his head. "Are you two ready?" Rory turns to look at Dr. Kale sitting at the end of the bed. Two nurses hold her legs and the door to the hospital room bursts open again. She looks at the person coming through the door and she can't help but grin. "Mommy's here." Lorelai rushes over to the other side of the bed and grabs her free hand. "Where's Abby?" Her mother gives her a smile. "With Luke." Rory nods, thankful that her mother is here with her. She realizes that she needs her more than ever. "Okay, are there any other visitors we're waiting on?" Rory shakes her head. "No." Dr. Kale sees how far she's dilated and then looks over at her with a smile. "Your ten centimeters, it's time." Rory prays this goes somewhat smoothly, for her sake and the babies.

Jess helps Rory through her first push and his heart feels like it's about to jump out of his chest. He's never been more scared and excited at the same time. Jess squeezes her hand, as she finishes her first push. He gets near her ear and whispers. "You're doing great, Gilmore." She nods her head. "Push again, Rory." She starts to push and nearly breaks his hand with how hard she's squeezing. Jess doesn't care if she does break it, as long as, they have two healthy babies as a result. "I can see the first head, it's time for another push." He watches Rory close her eyes and he knows she's struggling to continue. Jess reaches over and gives her a kiss on the forehead. Her eyes meet his and he can see the tears in them. "Hey, you've got this, their almost out." Lorelai gives him a rare smile and Rory turns to her. "You have to push, sweets." She nods and turns away from her mother. Jess feels himself holding his breath, as she opens her eyes and starts to push again. As the first cry rings through the room, Jess looks up to see Dr. Kale pulling out his first child. "It's a boy." Dr. Kale hands the baby off to one of the nurses and turns back to Rory. "Alright, I need you to push again." She starts pushing and Dr. Kale puts up her arm. "I see her head crowing, I need you to give me one more big push." Rory's eyes lock with his and he can see the exhaustion within them. His heart aches seeing her like this and all he can do is nod like an idiot. She turns back and pushes for hopefully the last time. Another cry echoes through the room and it's music to his ears. Jess's heart lifts, as he watches his second daughter appear in Dr. Kale's arms. The moment is so surreal for him, former bad boy watching his kids being born, but he couldn't be happier. He looks over at the babies getting cleaned up and his heart skips a beat, when two nurses approach him.

One of them hands him a baby and the other hands Rory the second baby. He looks down at the baby he's holding and can't help but smile at those familiar blue eyes staring back at him. Jess can't take his eyes off the baby, who has his nose, chin, and smile, poor kid. "We did it, Mariano." Jess finally tears his eyes away from the baby and looks over at Rory, who's holding their other child. He notices the pink blanket and realizes that he's holding his son. "I thought I did all this myself." Rory gives him a look. "If I could get out of this bed, I'd slap you right now." Jess gives her a smirk and they switch babies. He now looks down at his second daughter and he finally feels complete. Jess is the luckiest guy in the world and he has Rory Gilmore to thank for that.


	23. The Best Day Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". This chapter will feature the first meeting between Abby and her two adorable siblings. A majority of the chapter will be written in Abby's P.O.V, which I thought was very necessary for this chapter.

Rory looks down at her sleeping newborn baby girl, her little fists curled up and her breaths slow and rhythmic. Over the last two hours, she's held both her children, feeling an overwhelming sense of love and contentment. It's akin to how she felt when Abby was born and she's ecstatic that she's been given the opportunity to bring two new children into the world. When she had Abby, she didn't think that she'd ever have any more kids, but then she got together with Jess, and suddenly it was a possibility again. Rory's eyes travel over to the man she loves, holding their newborn son. He's staring into his eyes with a smirk playing on his lips and her heart warms at the sight. "Jess." His eyes look up and meet hers. "Have you come up with any names yet?" Jess nods his head. "I was thinking, we could name him Oliver, maybe call him Dodger for short." Rory can't help but smile at his suggestion, remembering all too fondly, their first real conversation about books. It was also the night that she had started to fall for the new bad boy of Stars Hollow. "I like it, now how about her?" Rory looks back down at her daughter, moving slightly in her sleep. Her eyes look up to find Jess's smirk widened. "Can't get enough, huh?" Rory shakes her head. "Never, it was the same with Abby." Jess gives her a nod. "I remember holding her for the first time and wishing she was mine." Rory hears a touch of sadness in his voice, but a small smile appears on his face. His eyes burn into hers. "I'm glad she is now." Rory nods at his words. "She's always been yours Jess. At this point, I couldn't separate the two of you if I tried." Jess gives her another smirk and the hospital room door bursts open. Rory turns to see Abby running into the room, happy and jumping around, more excited than she's ever seen her. She skips towards her hospital bed with a big grin on her face. "Who's this, mommy?" Rory gives her daughter a smile. "This is your little sister." Rory watches her daughter peek at her little sister's face and her smile widens. Hopefully, the three of them get along and they don't have a rivalry on their hands.

Abby is so excited to see her little sister wrapped up in a pink blanket. She's so small and smelly. Abby looks up at her mommy and scrunches her face. "She's stinky, mommy." Her mommy puts her nose near the diaper and frowns. "Uh oh, it looks like someone needs to be changed." Abby shakes her head. "Eww." She doesn't want to be near a dirty diaper, so she runs over to her daddy. He gives her a smirk and she smiles back. "What's the matter Abby, you don't want to help your mommy change a stinky diaper?" She shakes her head. "No way, daddy." Her daddy's smirk gets bigger and she looks over to see her little brother. He has black hair like her daddy and blue eyes like her. "What's his name?" Her daddy looks down at her brother. "Oliver Lucas Mariano." Abby doesn't like that name, it's too long. She shakes her head. "I'm going to call him Ollie." Her daddy smiles at her and nods. "Okay kid, you can call him Ollie." She turns around and looks at her mommy who's changing her sister. When she's done, she smiles at her daddy. "Lucas?" Abby wonders who Lucas is? "I figured, I owed Luke for putting up with me when I was seventeen." Abby knows that her daddy stayed with her grandpa, so Lucas must be him. She remembers the grown-ups talking about it one time. Abby gives her mommy a smile and points at her little sister. "What's her name?" Rory shakes her head. "We haven't come up with one yet." Abby tries to think of a pretty name to call her little sister. She really really likes the name Lily, it's her favorite person on the best show ever. "Her name is Lily." Her mommy nods at her. "I love it, Abby." Abby feels so happy to have a new little sister and little brother. "So, big sister, what do you think her middle name should be?" Abby turns around and giggles at her daddy calling her a big sister.

She can't wait to boss them around. "Grandma told me that her middle name is Victoria. Is that a good middle name, mommy?" Her mommy smiles and nods her head. "It's perfect Abby because I promised grandma that I would name my next daughter after her. She'd kill me if I broke my promise." Abby shakes her head, as her mommy gives the baby a kiss on her head. "Lily Victoria Mariano." Abby starts dancing around the room and she hears the door open. She looks over to see her grandpa and grandma, who had told her to go in first because she's the special big sister. Abby runs across the room, skipping the whole way. "Grandma, grandpa, this is Lily and Ollie." Her grandma scowls at her mommy. "I thought you were going to name your kid after me?" Her mommy gives her grandma a big smile. "I did, actually Abby did, she declared that the baby's middle name is Victoria." She watches her grandma look at her with a smirk and open her arms. Abby runs into them and she holds her. "That's my girl." She loves her grandma so much, she's so silly. "Do you want to hold him?" Her grandma lets her go and she turns to look at her grandpa, who's staring at her little brother. Abby rushes over to him. "Come on grandpa, you can hold Ollie, you won't drop him." Her grandpa looks down at her and shakes her head. "Is it that obvious?" Abby hears her daddy laugh. "Must be, if a six-year-old can tell that you're afraid." Her grandpa frowns and shakes his head. "I'm not afraid, I've held a lot of babies." She looks over at her daddy who's smirking. "Oh yeah, name them?" Abby turns to her grandpa, who is very quiet for a few minutes. He's only this quiet when she gets in trouble at the diner or his house. Maybe her daddy is in trouble? "I held Abby and Doula, now let me hold him." Her daddy shakes his head and hands Ollie to her grandpa. She watches him smile and it scares her a little. Abby has only seen her grandpa smile in pictures or when watching a movie with her grandma. "Are you okay, grandpa?" Her grandpa looks down and he keeps smiling. "I'm fine kid, why?" Abby is about to tell him, when her daddy gets up from the chair. "I thought you should know that his name is Oliver Lucas Mariano." She watches her grandpa look at her daddy and his smile gets even bigger. Abby guesses that he's happy that her mommy and daddy named Ollie after him.

Her grandma and grandpa stay until nighttime and then tell her that it's time to go home with them. Abby's grandma tells her that her mommy, daddy, and the babies need to stay and rest. She shakes her head and puts her hands on her hips. "I don't want to leave." Her grandma shakes her head with a frown. "How about, if you come home with us, I'll let you have five scoops of ice cream before bed." Abby doesn't move. "I want to stay here with my family." Her grandma sighs and she knows she's in trouble now. "Abby, listen to your grandma. You don't want to stay here in this boring hospital, when you can have ice cream at home." She turns to her daddy, who's walking towards her. "But it's not fair, I'm a Mariano too, right?" The room is quiet again and it makes Abby feel nervous. Did she say something wrong? Her daddy looks down at her. "Do you want to be a Mariano?" Abby nods at her daddy. "Your silly daddy, I already am a Mariano." He gives her a smirk and picks her up. "Alright, you can stay, but you have to be quiet, so you don't wake up mommy and the babies. Can you do that?" She nods and gives him a big smile. Abby sticks out her pinky finger towards her daddy. "I promise not to wake them up, daddy." He smiles and waves goodbye to her grandma and grandpa for the night. Her daddy settles back in the chair and she lays her head on his chest, falling asleep instantly.

The next morning, Abby opens her eyes to her mommy starring at her. She looks around for her daddy, but he's not here. "Where's daddy?" Her mommy gives her a smile. "He went to get some breakfast for us, he'll be back soon." Abby nods and she gets up from the chair. She looks over at the empty baby cribs and turns to her mommy. "Where's Ollie and Lily?" Her mommy pats the space on the bed next to her and Abby plops down. She curls up with her mommy. "They're getting a check-up in the baby room, sweetie." Abby feels scared for her little sister and little brother. "Is something wrong with them, mommy?" Her mommy brings her closer to her side. "Their fine Abby, the nurses are just making sure that their healthy." She nods at her mommy's words and settles against her. Abby hears the door open and sees her daddy walking in. He gives her a smirk and walks over. "Grandpa Luke gave me a hard time for this, but I managed to get you some extra bacon." He hands her the bag and she looks inside. She takes out the box and opens it. Abby's stomach growls and her eyes widen at the chocolate chip pancakes and five pieces of bacon. Usually, her grandpa only gives her two pieces. "This is the best day ever." Her daddy smiles at her and he gives her mommy her food. "Abby, me and daddy need to talk to you." She nods, as she begins eating her breakfast on her mommy's tray. "Daddy told me that you wanted to be a Mariano last night." Abby nods her head, confused why her mommy and daddy are talking about this. If her little sister and little brother are Mariano's, so is she. "Mommy and I have been tossing the idea back and forth for a while, we just weren't sure if you were ready for me to adopt you." Abby stops eating and looks over at her daddy. "What does adopt mean?" Her daddy sits on the side of the bed and gives her a smirk. "It means that you'll officially be a Mariano, kid." Abby turns to her mommy and she smiles. "Is that what you want, Abby?" She shakes her head and hugs her mommy. Abby then turns to her daddy. "Come here, kid." He picks her up and gives her the biggest smile she's ever seen on her daddy's face her whole life. "I love you, Abby Mariano." Her daddy holds her tightly and she decides that this really is the best day ever.


	24. The Obstacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls"

Jess pulls up to their house and can't knock the smirk off his face. He looks over at Rory and she's also smiling. Jess turns and looks at his three children sleeping in the backseat. He still can't believe that this is actually happening, that this is his life now. Jess gets out of the car and opens the door to the backseat. He quietly unbuckles his newborn daughter's carrier and takes it out of the car. Jess looks across and sees Rory doing the same with Oliver's carrier. He then turns to Abby and gently nudges his snoring daughter slightly. Jess can't help but smirk when she opens her eyes and stretches her little arms. Abby's eyes find his and she smiles wide. "Hey there, sleepy head, it's about time you got up." She slides across the seat and out his door. His oldest daughter looks up at him and Lily. "It wasn't a dream, daddy?" Jess smiles and ruffles her hair. "No kid, it wasn't a dream." Her smile gets even wider, as she runs around the front of the car and over to Rory and Oliver. Rory exchanges a look across the car and his heart skips a beat at how happy she is, how happy they all are.

They begin to make their way to the porch and reach the stairs. Jess follows Rory and a skipping Abby into the front door. As soon as they get in, a loud rumble erupts from somewhere. He looks down at Lily to see if it's time for a diaper change, but she hasn't moved an inch. Jess also doesn't smell anything, so he turns his attention to Rory, who's checking their son. Her eyes connect with his and she shakes her head. The only person in the room that they haven't investigated is Abby. She's standing between them, when her stomach rumbles again. Jess smirks at her and shakes his head. "Geez kid, when's the last time you ate anything?" Abby looks up at him. "It was at breakfast, daddy. A really long time ago." Jess looks at the time on the wall and sees that it's eleven o'clock, only an hour and a half since they ate a huge breakfast. He had sat there across the table from Abby, watching his daughter eat three chocolate chip pancakes, five pieces of bacon, three pieces of sausage, and a ton of syrup on top. Jess figures that she was making up for lost time without Luke looking over her shoulder every five minutes, telling her to eat healthy foods. He turns back to his oldest daughter and shakes his head. "I should have known that you'd be hungry, you have the stomach of a Gilmore." She giggles and starts running towards the kitchen.

Jess turns to Rory and she smiles at him. "Hey, don't knock the Gilmore's love for food." Jess's smirk widens. "I wouldn't dare." Rory hits him in the arm and they make their way into the kitchen, where Abby is standing in front of the fridge, searching for any food she can get her hands on. Jess shakes his head, as Rory hands him Oliver's carrier and joins Abby in front of the open fridge. "Hey sweetie, what do you got there?" Their oldest daughter turns to her with a giant grin on her face, holding a few pudding cups and three big cartons of ice cream. He hadn't realized that she had gotten into the freezer, but here his daughter is, step stool in place, climbing to get her junk food. He shakes his head, still trying to figure out the Gilmore women. Jess watches Rory reach out with a smile and grab the pudding cups. "Get rid of these and grab the bags of chips from the cabinet over there. I'll order a few boxes of pizza and we'll have a Welcome Home party for the babies." Abby's grin widens and Jess holds both baby carriers firmly in his hands, knowing that this will probably be his favorite Gilmore Party yet.

Rory can't stop looking between her two newborn babies. They're sleeping so soundly, that the only sound in the room is their soft snores. She feels like someone should be pinching her right about now, as an arm suddenly snakes around her shoulders. Rory doesn't need to turn to know who it is. "How's our kids doing?" Jess brings her closer to his side and she lays her head on his shoulder. The feeling of absolute happiness washes over her and she can't help but smile. "They're doing great, Oliver fought sleep for a little while, but Lily fell asleep as soon as I put her in the crib. How's Abby doing?" Rory turns and sees Jess smirking. "She's still wide awake watching the movie, are we sure she isn't some sort of machine?" Rory wonders how her daughter is even functioning after the last few days they've had. She can't help but smile at how much she's been skipping the last few days and she's happy that her daughter is adjusting okay. They take one last look at the two new editions to their family, before walking out of the nursery and heading downstairs to spend time with their first born.

They sit down on the couch on either side of Abby. She turns to Jess and then to her with a smile. "Are Lily and Ollie asleep, mommy?" Rory nods her head at her words. "Yeah, now tell me what's happening in this movie." Her daughter launches into a long discussion about various mystical characters, complete with hand gestures for nearly thirty minutes. In that time, she can't help but glance over her daughter's head and smile at Jess, who's smirking back at her. Abby's babbling finally stops and she gives her a big grin. Her cell phone ringtone suddenly echoes through the air and she grabs it off the coffee table in front of her. She looks at the caller i.d. and freezes. Her screen reads Logan Huntzburger in big letters and everything goes blurry. Rory had called him earlier and left a message to call her back because she needed to talk to him about something important. Usually, it takes him days to call her back, but of course, he chooses today to be responsible. She hasn't even figured out what she's going to say yet.

Rory jumps up and walks into the kitchen. She takes a breath, before answering the call. "Hi Logan." Rory wonders how this conversation is going to go and if he'll be able to get over his pride long enough to let his daughter be happy. "Hi Ace." She sits down at the table, praying that World War III isn't about to break out. "So, what did you need to talk about?" Rory takes another sharp breath, before plunging headfirst into the scary unknown. "We need to talk about you signing away your parental rights to Abby." There's a long pause and she closes her eyes, waiting for the fallout. "Is this Jack's idea?" Rory shakes her head and all she can think is here we go. "No Logan, it wasn't Jess's idea. We made this decision as a family." She hears him laugh and her blood boils. Rory wonders what he finds so funny about the situation. "We've been over this Ace, she's my daughter, and there's nothing you and Jack can do about that." Rory stands up and starts walking in circles around the kitchen. She can feel the anger rising inside of her and she knows that she's got to get herself under control before she explodes. "Think about somebody other than yourself for once, think about what's best for Abby." Another pause settles between them, as Abby's giggles reach her ears from the other room. The anger she's feeling dissipates for a moment and she lets herself smile. Her daughter's happiness is the most important thing to her and she'll be damned if she lets Logan ruin that. "I know what's best for Abby, I'm her father." Another loud round of giggles come from the living room and she walks to the archway. She sees Jess tickling their daughter with a big smirk on his face. The two look so natural together and her heart flutters at the sight.

She walks back into the kitchen, ready to fight on behalf of her daughter. "You're only her father by name Logan, you've never tried to be her dad. You bailed on her and Jess didn't. He's been there since the day she was born, while you've been living the life your dad envisioned for you. Abby deserves a dad that will be there for her, not one she sees once a year. So, I'm asking you to sign over your rights, so she can finally have a dad that will be proud to call her his daughter." A long pause follows and she walks back to the archway. Rory sees Abby resting her head against Jess's shoulder, her eyes closing. As if he senses her presence, Jess looks away from the movie and his eyes lock with hers. The moment is like hundreds of other moments they've shared since they got back together, but she notices something different in his eyes tonight. There's fear there and it makes her heart clench. Rory figures that Jess must have been tipped off about Logan being the one to call her back because she usually answers calls when their watching T.V. or a movie together. She never wants to miss a moment of a movie, even if she's seen it a million times. It's a weird rule her mom and her decided when she was a teenager on their many movie nights. Rory finally hears a sigh on the other side of the phone. "Let me sleep on it Ace, you'll know my decision when you hear from my lawyers. Until then, don't let Jack get too comfortable playing daddy to my daughter, she's still mine." The line goes dead and Rory shakes her head at Jess. She wishes that went better, but she's glad that at least she got him to take time to mull it over. Rory guesses it's better than a flat out no.


	25. Abby's Declaration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Jess takes Abby to bed and tucks her in. He stares at her for a minute, praying that Logan won't fight them on this. Jess knows the jerk has lawyers in his pocket and the case may be difficult to win. Especially, since he's not married to Rory and therefore, doesn't have any legal rights to her. Jess sighs, as he pushes a piece of long blonde hair away from her eyes. He bends down and gives her a soft kiss on her forehead. Jess turns to walk to the door and then takes one last look at his daughter. The only sound is her little snores filling the room and Jess knows without a shadow of a doubt, that she's his little girl, no matter what that dick tries to do.

He cracks the door and walks back downstairs where he knows Rory is waiting for him to talk. He wishes they didn't have to talk about this, he wishes a lot of things. Jess reaches the bottom of the stairs and makes his way to the kitchen, where Rory is sitting there with her head resting on the table. He knows she's beating herself up, as he takes a seat next to her and pulls her into his arms. Rory snuggles into him and he holds her for a few moments, hoping that they'll come up with some type of plan to stop Logan from taking them to court. She finally pulls back and they lock eyes. Jess can see how stressed this is making her and it makes his heart sink. The idea that that guy can destroy the family that they've created together because he has deep pockets and a big ego makes anger flare up inside of him. "We could elope." Jess stares at Rory for a moment, trying to gage if she's being serious.

Her eyes stare back at him, with so much conviction, he knows she means it. "It's perfect Jess, Logan doesn't pay me child support and you've been in her life since she was born. You're her father and we've built a stable environment for her and the babies. All that's missing are the rings." Rory gives him that smile of hers and he shakes his head. "No, I'm not marrying you like this, you deserve a real wedding." She looks back at him with a small smile and grabs his hand in hers. "Abby deserves a real father more." Jess can't help but smirk at her. "Alright Gilmore, if we don't hear from his lawyer in a few days, I'll become your ball-in-chain." Rory smiles wide and gives him a kiss. Jess hopes that this all works out somehow, just like the rest of his life with Rory has.

Abby wakes up the next morning, smelling her daddy's bacon. It's the best in the world, right after her grandpa's, but that's her secret. She walks down the stairs and hears her mommy talking. "Should we tell Abby?" Abby wants to know what they're talking about in their grown-up talk, so she decides to play superspy again. "I don't think that's a good idea Rory, we don't want to crush our kid's hope, if things somehow end up going South." Her mommy and daddy are quiet for a few minutes. "You really think us getting married won't help our case?" Abby creeps a little further down the stairs and she can see her daddy shaking his head. "It's not that I don't think it'll help Rory, it's that I think he'll somehow find a loophole that we don't see coming and pay off someone to get what he wants. Richie Rich has always gotten everything he wants, why not Abby too?" Abby feels mad at Logan for taking her away from her mommy, daddy, Lily, and Ollie. She rushes back upstairs and closes the door to her room. She won't let Logan take her away, he's mean and not her daddy. Abby sits at her table and grabs a red crayon.

Half an hour later, Abby finishes what she's doing and puts her crayon down. She grabs the pretty paper that her great grandma got her for Christmas and stomps down the stairs. Abby walks to the kitchen and sees her mommy and daddy holding Lily and Ollie. She stops in the middle of the kitchen and puts her hands on her hips. Her daddy turns to her and smirks. "Oh oh, she has her hands on her hips. We were just about to come up and get you. Long night, kid?" Abby is so mad at her daddy right now that she gives him a mean look. Her daddy's smirk goes away. "Abby, honey, what's wrong?" Abby looks at her mommy and shakes her head. "I want to call Logan." Her mommy and daddy are quiet. She looks at both of them and then Ollie starts crying. She gives him a mean look too. Her mommy bounces him up and down. "Why do you want to call him?" Abby looks over at her daddy, who now looks sad. "I don't want him to take me away." Her daddy shakes his head. "He's not taking you away, where did you get that idea?" She locks eyes with her daddy and feels sad. "I was playing superspy and heard you and mommy talking." Her daddy looks over at her mommy. "Can we see what you wrote, Abby?" She hands her mommy the pretty paper. Abby watches her look at it and then look over at her daddy again. Her mommy walks over to her daddy and gives him the paper. She watches her daddy read it and sigh to himself. Her daddy looks at her. "Are you sure you want to call him?" Abby nods and he hands her the pretty paper back. Her mommy walks over to her and presses a button on her phone. "You don't have to do this, sweetie." Abby looks at her mommy. "Yes, I do mommy. Grandma says Gilmore women are strong." Her mommy gives her a small smile and hands her the phone. Abby hears a ringing sound for a minute. "Rory, why are you calling me?" She holds her pretty paper up. "This isn't mommy, this is Abby." Logan is quiet and she starts reading:

_Logan,_

_I don't want you to take me away from my mommy, daddy, Ollie, and Lily. They are my family and I love them. I don't want you to be my daddy because I already have one. He's the best daddy ever and you're the meanest. Go be a daddy to your other kids and leave my family alone._

_Abby Mariano_

Abby waits forever for Logan to talk. "Give your mom the phone." She turns to her mommy and holds her phone out. "Abby, I can't hold the phone because I'm holding Lily, can you hit the speaker button?" She looks for the button her mommy showed her one time, when she needed to talk to her grandma on the phone and she was driving the car. Abby hits it. "Logan, what do you have to say?" She looks at her mommy and hopes her note worked. "Did Jack encourage this?" Her mommy sighs. "No Logan, Jess had nothing to do with Abby's letter. Now, are you going to continue to act selfishly and ruin Abby's happiness or are you finally going to be an adult for once?" The grown-ups are quiet again and Abby plays with her favorite hair tie around her wrist. "As far as I'm concerned, she's no longer my daughter, if that's what she wants. Just know, I'm not doing this for you or Jack, I'm doing this for Abby." Her daddy makes a weird sound behind her and she looks at him. He gives her a big smirk and she runs towards him. Abby looks at Ollie and puts her hand on his chest. "Did you hear that Ollie, I'm staying here with you, Lily, mommy, and daddy?" She looks at her baby brother and wishes he could talk back to her. Oh well, she knows he's happy because he's a Mariano too.


	26. Past and Future Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls".

Rory, Jess, and Abby, head over to the Lawyer's Office to start the paperwork for Jess to adopt Abby. She can't help the smile on her face, as her daughter skips into the building. Originally, she didn't think it was a good idea to bring Abby along with them, but Jess had convinced her that they needed to include her in the process because it was a big deal for all of them. As Rory watches her daughter giggle and grab Jess's hand, she's glad she listened to him. They reach the office and see the lawyer they had recently hired to oversee the adoption process. He's sitting at his desk and looks up when Jess knocks on the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Mariano, I presume?" Rory looks over at Jess before turning back to the lawyer. "Actually, we aren't married yet, but we'll be planning our wedding soon." The lawyer nods and waves his hand for them to sit down. Abby opts to sit on Jess's lap since there's only two chairs for them to sit in. Rory watches the lawyer shuffle the papers around on his desk and scan the paper he picks out of the stack. "Abby's biological father Logan Huntzburger has officially signed over his rights and added a stipulation to the clause. Since he no longer claims paternity of the child, he isn't responsible for any monetary support. Essentially, Abby doesn't have the right to the Huntzburger fortune." Rory isn't surprised by Logan's so-called clause. While she never wanted a dime from him, she hates that her daughter has to hear her biological father verbally disowning her. She finds it cruel, but when has Logan ever cared about other peoples' feelings? Rory peeks over at Abby, who's staring blankly at the lawyer. She knows her daughter is a smart girl, but wonders if this is too over her head to understand. "Abby, sweetie, are you okay?" Her little head turns and she gives her a small nod. She exchanges a look with Jess and watches him whisper something into their daughter's ear.

Abby's blank expression quickly turns into a warm grin directed to Jess. "Do you agree to these terms?" Jess looks over at Rory and she nods her head. Jess turns back to the lawyer. "We do." The lawyer gives them both a smile. "Wonderful, once I get this processed, we can start the petition for adoption." The lawyer grabs a yellow envelope out of the pile on his desk and hands it over to Jess. "Please fill out these forms and bring them back within the next 48 hours. I will petition the court as soon as the paperwork is in." Rory and Jess both stand up. She turns to see Jess stick out his left hand to shake the lawyers. Rory loves the proud smile on his face. "Thank you, for helping us out." The lawyer gives Jess a nod. "I'm happy to help, if either of you have any questions about the paperwork, please let me know." Rory gives him a gracious smile and they make their way out of the Lawyer's Office.

Jess sits at the kitchen table staring at the adoption papers sitting in front of him. He can't believe that this is finally happening after all these years. Adopting Abby was once a dream, but now, it's a reality and he's glad that she'll finally officially be his little girl. "Daddy." Jess turns to look over at Abby, who's standing in the entrance of the kitchen. She gives him that big smile he loves and rushes over to the table to sit in his lap. He can't help the smirk that comes over his face, when she settles and looks down at the paperwork sitting in front of him. After a few moments, she turns back to face him and a frown has replaced her smile. "You're not done yet, daddy, what's taking so long?" Jess feels his heart sink at her words and hates the look of disappointment on her face. "You don't want me, daddy?" Jess's heart stops and he quickly wraps her into a hug. He kisses her on the top of her head. "I do want you, kid. I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this. It's a big moment and I want to savor it." Jess feels Abby move back to look at him, confusion clouding her eyes. "What does savor mean?" Jess can't help but laugh at his daughter's curiosity. "It means that I want to enjoy this moment as long as I can." Abby's confusion disappears and she grins back at him. "Don't take too long daddy, I really want to write Abby Mariano on all my papers at school. Everyone thinks it's a really cool name." Without another word, she hops off his lap and makes her way out of the kitchen. Jess watches his little girl disappear and realizes that the kid is right. Mariano is a cool name and he'd be stupid to wait any longer to give it to her.

Jess finally finishes the extensive paperwork, just as Rory walks in the door with the twins. They had dropped them off earlier at Luke and Lorelai's when they had gone to the lawyer's office. Jess gets up from the chair and makes his way over to them. He grabs Oliver's carrier and can't help but smile at his sleeping form. When he puts his hand on his chest, he notices the outfit he's wearing and turns to look at Rory. "Before you say anything, just know, that I didn't tell mom to dress him in that. She bought it on her own, I had nothing to do with it." Jess shakes his head, feeling frustration building within him. "So, your mom came up with this on her own, huh?" Rory gives him a nod. "You don't believe me?" Jess shakes his head and looks down at his son. He's wearing a _Dodgers_ baseball jersey with the number 1, complete with a little baseball hat (which Rory had unsuccessfully hidden under his legs) and the icing on the cake, Dodger written across the back.

Lorelai had run it pass them a few weeks ago and thought it would look cute on him. He had told her that he didn't want his son to get teased over wearing it. His mother had dressed him up in one for school and all the kids had made fun of him. One of the kids even kicked his ass for wearing it. To make matters worse, his mother had made him wear it once a week for a year because she also thought that he looked cute in the damn thing. Jess didn't want that for his son and he figures that once they start dressing him in them, then he'll grow-up wanting to wear them. He locks eyes with Rory and she gives him a smile. "You never told me why you don't want Oliver to wear the uniform?" Jess shakes his head and sighs. "I don't like talking about it." A smirk appears on her face. "So, it's like the swan incident, then?" Jess lets out a breath, regretting now that he ever told her about what happened with that damn swan. "Watch it, Gilmore." Rory throws her hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just trying to figure out what territory I'm in now. The not so bad or the incredibly bad." He shakes his head. "Trust me when I say the incredibly bad." Rory stops and locks eyes with him from across the room. He hopes she gets the hint at why he's agitated by the situation and drops this whole thing.

Rory's expression turns to one of concern, as she moves closer to him and looks down at their son. "Okay, so I'll tell mom to take it back tomorrow, but you'll have to tell me why you hate him wearing an adorable jersey, so much." Jess lets out a sigh. "It's not important, Rory." He smooths down Oliver's hair, which is standing up in all directions from wearing that stupid hat, and feels Rory's eyes burning into the side of his head. "Fine, don't tell me Mariano, but I will find out what your hiding eventually." Jess doesn't doubt that, as he watches his future wife walk out of the kitchen.


	27. Let's Plan a Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I hope everyone is still enjoying this story, I'm planning on writing two more chapters after this one.

Rory opens a bridal magazine and starts browsing. The dresses are beautiful, but she's never wanted a traditional wedding dress. Like her mother, she's always wanted a dress that represents who she is as a person. Just as she starts to turn the page, she hears giggles coming from across the room. Rory looks over at her mother, who's eyes are watering because she's laughing so hard. "What's so funny?" Her mother grabs the magazine from her lap and holds up a picture of a woman wearing what looks like a retro 80's dress, complete with the big puffy sleeves and a gaudy veil to boot. Rory scrunches her nose in disgust. "Who from this decade would wear that?" Her mother gives her a cheeky grin. "Beats me, kid. 80's style at its finest." Rory watches her mother get up from the chair and walk over to the couch to sit down next to her. "Are you hungry, sweetie, because mommy could eat a cow right now?" Rory gives her a nod. "I could eat a cow and a chicken if you have one." Her mother smiles at her. "Oh, you really are fruit of my loins, aren't you?" She nods at her mother, loving the fact that their planning _her_ wedding. Her wedding, to one Jess Mariano. The only man that has ever really understood her and cherished her wholly. Rory can't keep the smile off her face. "Earth to Rory, did you hear a word I said?" She looks over at her mother's smug face. "Do you think your fairytale wedding plans to your former bad boy can wait long enough for you to help mommy decide whether we should order from that new pizza joint Kirk owns?" Rory can't help but laugh at the image of Kirk running a pizza place on his own, burning down the kitchen and dropping trays of drinks everywhere. "Do you think it's even edible?" Her mother grabs her cell out of her pocket. "Only one way to find out." She dials the number and Rory prays that she won't get food poisoning.

An hour later, Kirk appears in her mother's driveway, wearing a hat shaped like a pizza and a shirt that's covered with pepperonis. Rory can't help but snicker, as she stands at the window, peeking out. "Mom, you have to come see this." Her mother comes flying from the kitchen to the window cackling at Kirk's outfit. "I need my phone." Her mother takes off towards the kitchen again and runs faster than she's ever seen her. She watches her mother hold her phone up to the window and snap a few photos of Kirk struggling up the steps with the five boxes of pizzas they ordered. Rory turns to her mom. "You're cruel." Her mother turns to her, just as the doorbell rings. "And proud of it." Rory watches her mother head to the door and open it. She sees her discreetly take another picture, as she grabs the boxes from Kirk. Rory tries to stifle a laugh. "Kirkronis, hot and fresh." Her mother hands him a few bills and he gives her a smile. "Thanks for your order, please give me a review on ." Kirk turns to leave and walks back over to his moped. It takes him a few comical minutes to get the thing kickstarted and then they watch him until he disappears out of view. Her mother is laughing uncontrollably and she can't help but laugh along with her. This night is definitely not what she had expected when she came over to plan her wedding, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Jess sits in the living room, having just put all the kids to bed. As far as he's concerned, it's a damn accomplishment, because all three of them never settle down at the same time. Abby never goes to bed when she's supposed to, usually playing with dolls after they put her to sleep. He can't count on his hands the number of times that he's found that kid lying on the middle of her floor knocked out. Jess smirks at the thought, even though it irritates him most of the time. He looks over at the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table in front of him. The twins are quiet tonight, but most of the time, they take turns terrorizing him and Rory. Usually, Lily will start crying and then Oliver will join in an hour after that. Jess leans back against the couch, sighing in exhaustion, and feels something lodged between the cushions. He grabs it and anger flares up inside of him at the sight of that damn uniform. Jess shakes his head at it, trying not to have anymore flashbacks to his terrible childhood.

The door opens sometime later and Jess sees Rory walk in. She makes her way into the living room, when she sees he's awake. "Hey." Jess glares at her and grabs the uniform in question. He holds it up and Rory looks like she's a kid that's just got caught stealing from a cookie jar. "Why do you still have this?" Rory shakes her head. "I tried to give it back to my mom, but she refused to return it. I figured as long as Oliver wasn't wearing it, it wouldn't be a problem." Jess runs his hand through his hear and sighs. "So, you lied to me about it?" She tears her eyes away and looks at anything else but him. "Answer me, Gilmore." Rory's eyes come to rest on him again. "Then you have to be honest with me, what's the deal with this uniform?" Jess takes a sharp breath in before locking eyes with her. "Come here, because I'm only going to tell you this story once." Rory sits down next to him, with the biggest smile he's ever seen. "One Christmas, Liz bought me my very own baseball uniform. I hated the thing, but she insisted that I wear it at least once a week." Rory looks at him in confusion. "So, what's so bad about a baseball uniform?" Jess shakes his head, hating the next part of this story. "It wasn't a regular _Dodgers_ uniform, it…was specially made by one of Liz's stoner friends." Rory snuggles against him, her curiosity peaked. "What did it say?" Jess can't even look at Rory for the next part. " _Mommy's Little Slugger_ , complete with J. Mariano on the back. She thought it was cute, so she made me wear it all through middle school." He feels the vibrations of her giggles before he hears it. Jess knew that she'd do this, but he'd be lying if he said it doesn't piss him off a little. "Alright, laugh it up, Gilmore." Rory lifts her head off his chest and locks eyes with him. "I'm trying to picture you in that uniform, but I can't seem to imagine it. I need to ask your mom for a picture, maybe as part of a photomontage at our wedding." Jess shakes his head. "Jokes on you because there are no pictures left, I burned them all." Rory stops laughing for a moment and her eyes connect with his.

Jess notices that the laughter is gone from her baby blues and they've grown serious now. "I'm sorry, you had to go through that, but if it makes you feel any better, I went through a phase where I only wore unicorn stuff. I thought it was cool, but other kids made fun of me for a whole year." Jess can't help but smirk. "Try being made fun of for a couple of years. I just don't want our boy to be subjected to the same ridicule." Rory snuggles up to him and places her head over his heart once again. "I'm sorry to break it to you, Mariano, but our son will be teased about something else in his life. It's just how the world works and we can't protect him from that. Uniform or no uniform." Jess squeezes Rory and knows she's right. Nevertheless, the instinct to protect his children is something he takes seriously. He'd die for those kids and the same goes for the woman sitting next to him.

The next morning after breakfast, Jess makes his way to the basement to fish out his old leather jacket. He hasn't worn it in years, but Abby had read about it in his book and she'd demanded to see it. At first, Jess had refused to fish it out, but she gave him that look of hers, and here he is. When he reaches the basement, he immediately trips over something. As he feels around the floor in the dark, his fingertips touch various boxes. Jess wonders how the hell that could be possible, when Rory and him together only had a couple of boxes. What confuses him more is that when he had moved in, he'd made sure to put the boxes on a couple of shelves against the far wall of the basement. Jess fumbles for several minutes, trying to find the damn light overhead, and finally pulls the string. The room is now illuminated, but his confusion is still intact. His eyes scan the room and he counts at least fifty boxes. Jess also spots a board in the corner of the basement labeled, _Mariano Wedding Plans_ , in bold. Despite his annoyance, he makes his way over to the board and can't help but smirk. Rory has five wedding dress pictures posted, each numbered, as well as Abby's flower girl dress options. Jess tries to take every possibility having to do with their wedding in. "What do you think you're doing, Mariano?" Jess's heart stops at the woman who has organized the board in front of him. He turns and gives her his best smirk. Jess hopes that his charm will get him out of this one.


	28. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Oh, oh, looks like Jess is in trouble. This chapter contains one big surprise. I hope you enjoy the final two chapters.

Rory stares at Jess in utter surprise. She originally picked the basement for her wedding headquarters because he never comes down here. Now, the cat's out of the bag and she's not sure what to do. Jess looks like a child that's just got caught doing something wrong. "Listen, Rory, I'm…" Jess pauses and their eyes lock. "I was looking for my old leather jacket, our kid seems to think it's something to see, since you play it up so much." Rory can't help but smile at his words. He's trying to smooth things over and it's working. "What can I say, I secretly loved that old leather jacket, I thought it was sexy." She watches Jess smirk and make his way across the room. He reaches out and brings her towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rory follows suit, by wrapping her own arms around his neck. Between Abby and the twins, the two of them haven't really had any alone time.

Jess's smirk widens. "Sexy, huh?" Rory gives him a sly smile. "Very…sexy." He wastes no time leaning in and kissing her. The kiss soon grows passionate and the two find themselves on the brink of something more. Rory reluctantly pulls back, completely breathless. "I forgot, I was supposed to be mad at you." Jess gives her a smile. "That was the plan." Rory slaps him in the arm and they get up off the floor, the mood shifted between them. She walks over to the board and looks at all her wedding plans. Rory has been working tirelessly on this wedding and she's been trying to keep her big surprise under wraps. She turns to face Jess, who's looking at her with a mix of confusion and fear. "I wanted this to be a surprise, but now that you've seen this, I guess it's time to spill the beans." Jess looks at her nervously. "I've been secretly planning this wedding to happen at our spot, the bridge, before you adopt Abby." Jess shakes his head. "When were you going to let me in on this, Gilmore?" Rory walks over to him. "Well, the plan was to kidnap and blindfold you, but I guess that's not happening now." Jess gives her a smirk. "The bridge, huh?" Rory nods at his words. "Where else would it be?" she says with a smile.

Jess takes a few steps towards her and swipes some of her hair out of her face. "Ernest would be happy." Rory's breath catches at his words and the memory of the two of them sitting on the bridge and arguing about Ernest Hemmingway and Ayn Rand flashes through her mind. "Ayn wouldn't be." Rory can't help but smile at her future husband, _her_ everything. "So, when is this shindig supposed to happen?" Rory laughs at his words. "Saturday, everyone already knows about it. Luke has reluctantly been planning, what I'm sure will be a raging bachelor party for you on Friday." Jess shakes his head. "So, you weren't going to leave me in the lurch until the big day, then?" Rory locks eyes with him. "No, I'm not that cruel, but I was _never_ going to tell you where it would be." Jess reaches out to her and holds her to him. "Well, Gilmore, consider me surprised." He leans forward again and the two pick-up where they left off earlier, but this time, they aren't interrupted.

Jess gets a call two days later from Luke, asking him to grab a beer with him. He's not dreading going out with Luke because he knows that he won't drag him to some strip club. That's never been Jess's scene and his uncle knows that. He decides to wear his "amazing" leather jacket, according to Abby, and walks down the hall into the twin's bedroom. He sees Oliver and Lily, thankfully sleeping peacefully in their cribs and he can't help but smile. Jess makes his way over to Lily's crib first and places a soft kiss on her forehead. He turns and touches Oliver's rising chest lovingly. Jess is glad that his mother is in town and that she had volunteered to watch all three kids for them tonight. Even though, she's not his first choice in a babysitter, she's better than nothing. Jess quietly makes his way back out into the hallway and walks downstairs.

When he reaches the bottom of the staircase, he walks into the kitchen to say goodbye to the other two most important people in his life. Jess sees Rory scooping out some ice cream and he can't help but smirk at Abby wolfing down her own ice cream, probably on her second bowl. "Daddy." She shoots out of her chair and runs full speed at him. Jess opens his arms and picks her up. Abby gives him a big grin. "You're wearing your jacket." He nods at her. "Yeah, I wanted to look cool, when I go out with grandpa." Her grin gets even wider. "You do look cool, daddy, you have to wear this tomorrow." Jess smirks at his daughter, loving her excitement for the wedding the next day. "I'll see what I can do, maybe I'll wear this instead of my tux jacket." Abby's eyes light up like the sun. "Yeah, do that daddy, you look handsome in this jacket." Jess smirks at his daughter. "Handsome, huh?" She nods her head vigorously and his heart warms.

Jess looks over at Rory, who's now leaning against the counter, eating her ice cream. She's watching the scene with a smile. "What are you planning on doing, your last night as a single woman?" Rory smiles wider. "You know, the typical bachelorette party. I'm going over to my mom's house, eating a ton of junk food, having a few drinks, watching male strippers dance around…" With that, she gives him a sly smile. Jess shakes his head. "Watch it, Gilmore." Jess suddenly feels Abby tug on his jacket, looking at him in confusion. "What's strippers?" Jess was hoping that she didn't pick up on that part of the conversation, but she's a Gilmore, and they always pick up on everything. His eyes travel over to Rory, who looks completely mortified. Jess quickly locks eyes with his little girl. "I'll tell you when you're older, kid." With that, he gives her a kiss on the forehead and sets her down on the ground. "I'm going to go, see you tomorrow." Abby gives him another smile, before rushing towards the table and finishing her ice cream. Jess makes his way over to Rory and gives her a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gilmore." She laughs and its music to his ears. "I'll be the one in the dress, Mariano." Jess nods and turns to leave, excited that his lifelong dream of marrying Rory Gilmore is becoming a reality.

After Liz comes over to babysit the kids, Rory drives to her mother's house and quickly makes her way inside. To her surprise, the party is already in full swing and everyone's drinking ample amounts of alcohol. "There she is, the bride to be." Rory looks over at her grandmother, who's got a red solo cup in her hand, looking almost tipsy. "Hi grandma." She gives her an uneasy smile, praying that her grandmother won't drink too much tonight. "Step aside, mommy of the bride, coming through." Rory's eyes turn to her mother, who's walking towards her at full speed, with two red solo cups in her hands. She gives her one with a smile and Rory takes a sip. Her eyes start watering at how strong the mixture of alcohol is. "What is this?" Her mother gives her a devious smile. "It's my special blend." Rory turns to Gypsy who's in the corner of the room drinking like a fish. "I'll never tell." Rory accepts this and the party continues. As the night wears on, she feels more and more relaxed, maybe _too_ relaxed. She's on her fifth solo cup, when there's a knock on the door. "I'll get it." shouts a very drunk Babette. Rory hears the door open and close. The sound of music starts and she looks behind her to see Kirk in all his glory.

To her horror, he makes his way over to her and starts dancing. "I was hired for a whole hour, but I have a few rules." Rory is looking anywhere but Kirk. "You can't touch me, whistle at me, or catcall. It's in my contract and breach of contract will result in an extra $100 at the end of tonight." She can't help but laugh at the situation, despite how disturbing it is. Rory looks around at the group and sees her mother smiling slyly. "Did you hire him?" Her mother nods. "You bet I did, it's not easy getting a good male stripper on a whim." Rory shakes her head, as Kirk starts dancing around again and stripping. It's so uncomfortable to watch him dance, that she wants to strangle her mother right now. She hears her grandmother, Miss Patty, and Babette giggling in unison on the couch. "Kirk, over here honey, I want to give you some bills." He suddenly stops dancing and shimmies over to the couch. Babette touches his leg, while putting the bill in his thong. "No touching, you're breaking the contract, no touching." Rory laughs, and the bizarre night continues, but she wouldn't have it any other way.


	29. At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". Well, we've finally made it to the final chapter of this story. Thanks again for taking the time to read!

Jess wakes up the next morning in Luke's apartment, completely hung over. They had gone to the bar and Luke had invited a few guys to join them. Mark and some of his other friends from Truncheon, and God help him, TJ. It was completely low-key, just the way he had wanted it. Of course, the one wrinkle of the night had been TJ demanding he wanted to go to the strip club down the street. Mark and some of the other guys had went with him, drunk off their asses, and Jess had gone home, despite their slurred pleads. Luke had taken him home, only having one beer, and he crashed as soon as he got to the apartment. Now, as he opens his eyes to the blinding sunlight, he sees all the guys strewn around the room. There's a strong smell of alcohol permeating and he quickly jumps out of bed to throw up. Jess just makes it to the small bathroom, when the bile reaches his throat, and he releases it in the sink. Jess's head is pounding like a damn jackhammer and he knows it's his own damn fault for getting drunk. Jess prays he can get himself together in the next two hours, or he'll have one angry Gilmore on his hands.

After he finishes his shower, Jess walks downstairs and sees that breakfast is in full swing. He makes it over to the counter, not giving a damn about what the residents of Stars Hollow thinks, and takes the steaming cup of coffee that Luke hands him. "Rory called this morning to see if you survived the night." Jess shakes his head and takes a long sip of coffee. "Thanks Luke, for putting all that together last night." His uncle nods with a smile. "It's not a big deal, I just made a few calls to your buddies and Liz begged me to invite TJ." Jess glares at him. "Yeah, thanks for that." He takes another sip of his coffee, ready to take on the day, as soon as he gets rid of this pounding headache.

Rory has just put on her wedding dress and she's staring at her reflection in the mirror. She had never thought she'd make it to this day, but here she is. "You look beautiful, Rory." Rory turns to see Lane, teary eyed, closing the door behind her. "Sorry, I couldn't make it last night, Zack had to go out of town on business and my mother was sick, so I had to watch Steve and Kwan." Rory nods, knowing her best friend wouldn't miss her bachelorette party, if she could help it. "Well, you're here now, and that's all that matters." Lane nods with a teary smile and gives her a quick hug. "I'm so happy for you, Rory. I've been waiting for this day since we were five." A memory flashes witin her mind and a smile crosses her face. She thinks of Lane reassuring her that they would both eventually get married to handsome rich men, despite her own doubts. When they pull back, Rory gets a good look at her powder blue bridesmaid's dress, and smiles. "You look beautiful too, Lane." Lane returns a smile, just as there's a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Rory turns to look at the door. "Mommy of the bride." The door opens and her mother appears. She's wearing a dress similar to Lane's, but it's a different style. Rory had wanted her mother to look different because as far as she's concerned, it's her day too. "Wow, honey, you look beautiful." She can see the tears welling up in her mother's eyes and she has to force her own tears from showing through. Especially, since it had taken her about two and a half hours to get her hair and makeup done this morning. "Thanks, mom." Her mother smiles at her. "Are you ready to say, I do?" Rory can't help but smile widely. "I've always been ready, just was too stupid to see it." Her mother nods and she makes her way over to her, with Lane trailing behind. She puts her arm around Rory's shoulder and the two walk out of the room. "No one ever said you weren't my kid." With that, they make their way to the bridge and she'll be Mrs. Mariano, _at last_.

Rory's mother pulls up behind the big tree, right before the bridge. Her heart hammers within her chest, as she carefully gets out of the car and slowly makes her way over to the bridge. Her mother grabs her hand in hers and she smiles. As soon as the bridge comes into view, Rory's breath catches at the sight in front of her. Even though, she had been heavily involved in picking everything out, seeing it all put together is absolutely breathtaking. She looks around the crowd and spots all her family and friends sitting in chairs set up right before the bridge. A warmth spreads across her chest, as she spots the twins being held by Liz and TJ in the front row. She makes her way over and smiles at their cute little outfits. Lily is in a pink floral dress and Oliver is in a baby tux. Rory leans down and gives them each a kiss on the forehead. "Their great kids." She looks up at Liz and smiles. "Thanks for watching them last night." Liz smiles back at her and she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns to see her dad and Luke standing behind her. This is certainly something she never thought she'd see. "The ceremony is about to start." says her dad with a smile. "Jess is sweating bullets, but I think he'll make it." adds Luke with a smirk. Rory nods at their words and puts bother her arms out.

She had decided to have them both walk her down the aisle, not wanting any unnecessary tension at the wedding. While Chris is her father biologically, Luke is her father in every other way that matters. Rory loves them both in different ways, but if she had to choose who would walk her down the aisle right now, it would be Luke. Both of her fathers' grab her arms and her heart warms. Rory sees Abby ahead, already in position to walk down the bridge. She's standing at the edge, with her bouquet in hand, and Rory can't help but smile at her beautiful daughter. Her fathers walk her over and she stops right behind Abby. Rory nudges her shoulder and Abby gives her a big grin when she sees her. "You look pretty, mommy." Rory gives her a smile. "Thank you, sweetie, you do too." Her daughter's grin widens, and the music starts. Onwards, to the future.

Jess stands in the middle of the bridge, waiting for his bride to reach him. He watches his daughter throw African lilies down the makeshift aisle and his heart warms at the sight. Jess loves that little girl, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, he's so glad that they're going ahead with the adoption tomorrow. She gives him a toothy grin, as she makes it to the end of the aisle. Abby looks at the jacket he's wearing and smiles. "You wore it." Jess nods at her words and loves seeing her so happy. "Only for the ceremony, so mommy won't kill me, when we take the wedding pictures later." Abby nods and stands to his left. Jess takes a breath, as the music shifts, and Rory appears wearing the most beautiful wedding dress he's ever seen. He notes, that she ended up picking his favorite dress on the board.

Jess smiles, as Rory reaches him moments later. The minister looks at both Luke and Chris. "Who gives this woman to this man?" Luke and Chris blurt in unison. "We do." Jess can't help but smirk at the irony of these two being here together giving her away. The minister nods hesitantly and the two take their places with the rest of the crowd. Jess holds both her warm hands in his and turns her to face him. She gives him a radiant smile that takes his breath away. Jess can't tear his eyes off his future wife. "We are gathered here today, to unite this woman and this man, in holy matrimony." Jess feels a rush of happiness wash over him, as the minister reaches their vows a few moments later. He turns to Jess and nods. He takes this as his cue. "Rory, I've loved you since the moment I met you, you had me at Dodger." She gives him a tearful smile and he continues. "We went through a few rocky years and we both made mistakes, but the moment our daughter was born, I knew that we'd find a way to get together." Jess takes a moment to look over at Abby, who's giving him the biggest smile he's ever seen. His eyes travel back to Rory once again. "You've given me so much. Three beautiful children and a home to call my own. You're my everything, Rory and I vow to be with you always." He feels a few tears filling his eyes and puts the gold wedding band on her left finger.

The minister turns to her and nods his head, signaling her to begin. "Jess, I've been so incredibly stupid, when it's come to you over the years. I couldn't see that you were my soulmate because I was afraid that you'd leave me, if I opened my heart to you again." Jess feels an ache within his heart, knowing how much pain he's caused Rory over the years. "You've always been my rock, my Dodger. You're my perfect match and I wish I would have seen it sooner." Jess nods at her words. "I love you Jess Mariano and I'm not afraid anymore." She gives him a teary smile and places the ring on his finger. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." Jess gives Rory a smirk, before leaning in and giving her the sweetest kiss they've shared in their entire relationship. Their paths intertwined now and forever.


	30. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". So, the last chapter technically was the last chapter, however, I thought I'd add a short Epilogue to this story showing Abby's adoption though her own POV.

Abby and her daddy walk up to the scary desk. There's a man sitting up above her with a big hammer. She knows what's going to happen because her mommy and daddy had told her about it. Abby squeezes her daddy's hand, as the man up above looks down at her. "This hearing is to finalize the adoption process for Abby Victoria Gilmore, by one Jess Mariano." She's so scared that she blocks out the rest of the grown-up talk. Her daddy and mommy had told her to show her best smile to the scary man. Abby feels her daddy's hand squeeze hers again and then the scary man hits the hammer hard on his desk. She jumps and her daddy starts to drag her out of the courtroom. Her mommy meets them at the big doors with her grandma and they all walk out. Abby didn't understand the grown-up talk, but she knows that her name is now Miss Abby Mariano. Her daddy is still her daddy, but he had told her that she could now write Abby Mariano on all her papers. Abby's so happy, she skips out of the courthouse.

They walk into her grandpa's diner and no one's inside. The lights are off and it's very spooky. Abby starts to go up to her favorite chair, when she hears "Surprise." She jumps again and sees everyone in the light. Her great grandma is sitting at one of the tables with her baby sister Lily, her crazy grandma is holding Oliver next to her great grandma, and that funny man is next to her crazy grandma. She thinks his name is TJ, but she had heard her crazy grandma call him Gary. Abby's not scared anymore, as she turns around and sees her grandpa putting a cheeseburger and extra fries in front of her. "Here you go, kid." Abby smiles at her grandpa. "Thanks, grandpa." She takes a big bite. "Hmm, this is good." Her grandpa smiles at her and leans across the counter. "Good, huh, don't tell your parents that I added extra bacon to your burger." She grins at him and takes another bite of her burger.

"Whoa, slow down there, Mariano." Abby turns to her daddy, who's now sitting next to her. "You're so silly, daddy." She giggles at him. "What's going on over here?" Abby turns to her other side and gives her mommy a smile. "Daddy just thinks he's funny." Her mommy laughs and she turns back to her burger. "Alright, Mariano family, let's get a picture." Abby wipes her mouth with a napkin and turns to her grandma. She's holding her tablet that she sometimes lets her play with. Abby sees her great grandma and crazy grandma walk up with Lily and Oliver. They give the babies to her mommy and daddy. Abby gets in position and gives her biggest smile. Her grandma snaps the picture and she's so happy. This is what she's wished for every birthday, whenever her mommy tells her to make a wish. A _real_ family.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please feel free to review, I really appreciate the feedback.


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